


Blake, What Do Your Faunus Eyes See?

by TobiasHawk1



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Semi-Public Sex, Slice of Life, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 05:47:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 46
Words: 33,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3598668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TobiasHawk1/pseuds/TobiasHawk1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A really long, fluffy fic aboard the Bumbleby ship. A little smutty in later chapters, but entirely cute dorkiness all the way through, I promise. I hope you all enjoy and always remember, Zone-tan watches you fap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Observations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in the middle of the night leads Yang to a small discovery about her teammate.

Being in tune with one’s Aura comes with… _drawbacks_. I’d heard somewhere- probably in class- that your brain is always working, even while you're asleep. Guess that explains why I'm always hot when I wake up, and I don't just mean in the attractive kind of way.

I felt around in the dark for my Scroll, before flipping it open to check the time. The way too bright screen told me it was already three in the morning. Honestly, I really didn't want to get up, but I _needed_ a cold shower, _now_. Groaning under my breath, I rolled out of bed and stuck the landing, making sure to keep my fall as quiet as possible. I was just barely awake, but I instinctively checked on Ruby, just to make sure she was okay. She was sound asleep, muttering something about 'french toast' under her breath. I smirked and headed towards our bathroom. As my grogginess started to wear off, I slowly became more and more aware of my surroundings.

_“Is that the shower running?”_

Quiet as a mouse, I pushed open the door to the bathroom and looked over to my left. Blake was barely visible through the frosted glass shower door. I could just make out the shadows of her hands as they raised to cover the pair of feline ears on top of her head. The reflex probably came from habit, and she lowered them again after a few seconds, most likely realizing that we put this whole ‘I’ve secretly been a Faunus’ thing behind us like three episodes ago.

I was a little too tired to talk though, and I was sure she was too tired to listen. We'd both had long days at class and it was obvious she really didn’t want to be awake this late either. I undressed, slipping out of my tank-top and shorts and exhaustedly climbed into the empty shower on the right. Steam poured off my skin in waves as the cold water rushed over me. I leaned against the cold tiles of the wall for support and looked over to Blake as she turned to scrub her side under the water. She looked like a dark shadow, warped by the frosting of the glass. Now that I think about it, this was probably the first time I'd ever been in the bathroom at the same time as her. Rubbles and I have probably showered at the same time more often than not, and I've caught the ice queen finishing up about twice in the couple of months we've been roommates. But _Blake_? I guess I knew why now.

"Hey, Blake?" I wiped some of the fog off of the glass of my shower to try and see her better. It took me almost a second before I realized that might be just a little awkward and invasive.

"… Yang?" She asked curiously, the blob behind the glass turned to look at me, head cocked curiously to the side.

"You know, you don't have to shower so late to avoid us anymore. We're all okay with it, you know. Even Weiss..." Just the thought that Blake had built her entire schedule around _avoiding_ us, even in her own room… It was kind of shitty of us not to try and help her break down these barriers she'd constructed to hide herself. We’d never made her feel comfortable enough to be herself.

"… thanks." She answered awkwardly. I hoped she smiled.

I hummed to myself as I moved back to stand directly under the shower. The water rushed down my back and shoulders, and turned to steam even faster as it soaked my burning scalp. I looked up at the ceiling, watching the clouds of hot air collect to form an even larger cloud at the ceiling. I’d been so distracted and exhausted by the late hour I’d entirely forgotten-

_“The fire alarm!”_

I almost sprinted to turn it off before remembering I'd punched a hole in it last week after it went off for about the 83rd time. Blake finished her shower a few minutes before I did. She left the room with a quick ‘goodnight’ and shut the door behind her.

A fast rinse and new pair of pajamas later, I was glad to get back to sleep. I assumed Blake had already passed out in the few minutes it took for me to leave the bathroom, and was kinda surprised when I saw her bright, amber eyes open just as I was getting ready to jump into my bunk. She caught my eyes and I just kinda smiled, unsure of how to react.

"Yang?" Her voice was soft and wavered slightly, but I couldn’t tell why.

"Yeah," I asked curiously. I had to whisper under my breath- waking up Weiss was a mistake I’d never make again- but I knew she’d be able to hear me. Faunus are pretty cool like that.

"Thank you." I could see her face in the dim light coming from our window. It was hard to read her emotions, but she looked really, really thankful. Her eyes were wide and she blinked slowly as she watched me.

"Go to bed, Blake." I smiled and jumped up onto my bunk, hoping she understood she didn’t have to thank me. I fell asleep fast, I was still _exhausted_ and the shower only made me want to sleep more.


	2. Graceless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early mornings are tough on Yang's coordination.

I fell out of bed. I literally rolled and _fell_ out of bed my own bed.

"Oww." Not exactly a graceful way to start the morning.

"Be quiet, Yang. It's too early." Ruby threw a pillow at me and rolled over in her sheets. I kept quiet on the floor for a while and stared out the window. It was probably a bit after noon. Pretty early for me on a weekend, but there was no _way_ I was gonna get back to sleep now. I looked over to Weiss' bed, but Miss Perfectly Punctual was already long gone. Weiss was almost always the first of us to wake up and we never heard the end of it. I looked over to Blake's bed and saw her smirking down at me.

"See you next trip?" She purred the words softly, her throat playing with each sound.

"It's ‘see you next _fall_ ’ but nice try. Leave the puns to the pros." Her smirk grew even wider as I teased her.

"I was _going_ to ask if you'd like to get breakfast, but with that attitude, I might as well-"

"Fine! You get one last chance." I playfully batted my eyelashes at her and ran to the bathroom to shower and get changed. Blake followed a few minutes behind me, humming some new song I hadn’t had time to sit down and listen to yet. I finished a few minutes before her, the catchy melody already stuck in my head before having a pillow war with Ruby while I waited for Blake to finish up.

"Yang quit it," she whined. Ruby was so tired she probably could've slept another few hours. As a responsible older sister, I'd make sure to make that as difficult as possible for her.

"Stop throwing it back, Rugby!" I knew the little nicknames aggravated her like a bad mosquito bite.

"Let. Me. Sleeeeeep," she whined loudly and wrapped herself in her blankets like a turtle trying to avoid the world.

"Ready to go?" Blake finally came out of the shower, toweling her hair. She looked to me, then Ruby, covered in pillows, then back again. I don't think I've ever seen her look so suspicious.

"Yup! Later Rub-unf!" The pillow hit me square in the jaw just as I turned back to face my soon-to-be dead sister.

"Bye, Yang," she yawned happily and made herself even more comfortable under her pillow fort. I could practically feel her smirk as Blake and I left the dorm. She was so gonna get it when I got back.

"You're lucky Blake's holding me back or you'd get it," I shouted back at her as I closed the door behind us.

"I'm not holding you-"

"Come _on_!" Sometimes Blake really _was_ a nerd.


	3. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang continues discovering new things about her teammate. She's less than tactful about it.

I tried my best to hide a smirk as I watched Blake eat her breakfast-for-lunch. She'd made herself a lox sandwich and a glass of ice cold milk.

"Are you okay, Yang,” she asked suspiciously, putting her sandwich back down to staring at me, accusing me with those amber eyes. I'm pretty sure she was trying to understand why I looked so close to exploding.

"Mhmm!" I stuffed my mouth with another bagel. Laughing at her Faunus heritage was something that I _definitely_ didn't want to do, but it was just so cute to realize her favorite foods were… you know, cat related. Still suspicious, she didn’t stop eyeing me, and I looked down at my plate to keep from staring at her bow. I'd gotten into a really bad habit of watching her Faunus ears twitch beneath the cloth once I found out that they'd move to find the source of a sudden sound. The cafeteria so happened to be one of those places on campus that was _full_ of sudden sounds. It was pretty much a game to try and catch them twitch and I really felt bad about it in the first place.

"You're quiet… you're never quiet." She was too damn _smart_. She'd figure me out in a heartbeat even if I _was_ controlling myself. I took a deep breath to try and compose myself.

"Oh… it's just this oatmeal is the bee's knees, you know?" I stuffed another spoonful into my mouth, hoping she wouldn't press the issue. The regular noise of the cafeteria filled the awkward silence for a bit. Students laughing and talking, Scrolls sending and receiving messages amongst friends, tiny explosions going off as people messed with Dust without supervision. Regular Saturday afternoon.

"Mhmm…" The soft grunt was the same noise I'd made just a minute earlier, but this wasn't the same 'mhmm' I'd made, this was a total accusatory _'mhmm'_ like a cop gives a murder suspect during an interrogation. Her eyes met mine, and again, I had to look away, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Why don't you do the talking today, huh? Yerf pwobwy hearf me tawk morann enouph!" I shoved another spoonful of oatmeal in my mouth as I spoke. She hates it when I do that, and normally she'd give anything for me to stop. She scowled at me for a long while. I wasn't sure if she was upset or trying to figure out what I'd just said. Finally, she smirked and cocked her head at me before responding.

"Don't go through my books," she said flatly.

"Wha- oh! Uh… sorry. I was curious!" I could feel my cheeks heat up from the accusation. I had no idea she knew about that! I was always so careful to put everything back the way I found it!

"Curiosity killed the… never mind." She pointedly looked away as she took another bite out of her sandwich. I tried _very hard_ not to choke and die on my oatmeal. Greatest moment in pun history. Gold star.


	4. Inspire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teammates often push one another to perform their greatest. Sometimes the push can be entirely unintentional.

Sunday morning and I was hitting the gym, headphones blasting the Achieve Men playlist I'd put together. Rock, rap, heavy metal and dubstep, all played loud enough to drown out the sounds of everyone else working out in the gym. The constant steady rhythm really helped me while I practiced different combinations. Today looked like it was going to be an exceptionally good day. I'd gotten through three punching bags in an less than an hour, the first was burnt to a crisp- oops- while the second and third had fist-sized holes in them- also oops, but not really. They'd spewed long trails of fine, beige sand across the floor from where I was training to the 'Broken Equipment' dumpster. I was glad I was neither the first nor only donor to the dumpster for the day. It's still a mystery how Professor Goodwitch finds the time to fix everything.

Surprisingly, my fourth bag of the hour was refusing to fall. It was a different brand than I was used to beating up, and apparently they'd made these a lot more durable than the last brand did theirs. Even after a few roundhouse kicks and an uppercut that probably would've cracked a boarbatusk's armor, it never stopped bouncing on its chains, swinging like a pendulum. The next song started, a loud rock song that opened up with screaming guitars and loud drums.

"Let's go buddy!" I growled at the punching bag. I imagined the bag was a cylindrical shaped guy who was laughing at me as he swung back and forth on his chains. I landed a wicked spin-kick dead center of the bag and followed up with a back-fist and right hook which easily could've put any grown man on his ass, _especially_ if he was the owner of a particular night club.

I was focused on what I was doing, but I could see someone setting up an obstacle course through the window. The course room was an awesome, giant room where anyone could program a course into a panel by the door and the room would change according to what they’d programmed. Speed rounds, floorless rooms and punchable enemies were all options anyone could choose to program into the room. There was only one course room per gym on campus, which explained why people usually had to reserve them in advanced. I'd run through my own programs a couple of times but the enemies were made out of some granite material. Punching them usually opened up old scars on my knuckles, so I stuck to the bags.

I attacked my bag until the song finished before I looked up again. I instantly recognized Blake as she ran through her obstacle course. She was performing a revolving door speed-run _with enemies_. Revolving door speed-runs were basically timed courses where you'd have to run through constantly shifting doors before they closed and sealed you out of the next room. Most people didn't add any enemies because these kinds of rooms were super tricky without them. Not for Blake apparently.

I took a quick water break and watched her combat roll through an opening that almost slammed shut on her. Her reflexes were just so quick, I don't even think she was worried by it. She swept the feet out from under one enemy and it fell, shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces. Without missing a beat she cartwheeled and landed on another enemy's shoulders and leaned forward, slamming its back against the ground and before performing a handstand. She pushed up and jumped from her handstand, out of the door which had become an opening in the roof of that room. All of that took less than five seconds. I was suddenly really glad we had her on _our_ team. I really wanted to keep watching, but the new room was too high up for me to see. I went back to work on the punching bag, totally inspired by my kick-ass teammate.


	5. Homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang manages to get under Blake's skin.

About an hour after my workout, I was crunching on an energy bar while doing some homework with Ruby. She'd surprised me and climbed into my bed while I was out. She'd almost killed me with a pillow when I tried to jump up. But now it was down to work.

"This is too hard! I never even learned this!" Ruby whined loudly as she looked over her Dust homework. The class revolved around mixing different kinds of Dust together to create more powerful kinds. Weiss got straight A's while the rest of us tried to copy off of her work without her noticing. She was normally more than willing to help, but her kind of tutoring wasn't something either of us could stand.

"It's okay, Ruby. The textbook has some formulas in the back. If you didn't learn them at Signal, I can help you learn them now." I'd been helping Ruby with homework since she'd started school. It wasn't always easy, but she was a fast learner when someone explained something to her in a way she'd understand.

"… are we allowed to use those?" She pouted as she searched the book for the formulas I was talking about.

"If it helps you understand it, I don't see why not. Just make sure you actually learn it, okay? No memorizing." I ruffled her hair playfully and she tried to bite my hand to get back at me. Ruby had managed to skip two grades because she was an amazing fighter. Unfortunately she’s about the same level as I am when it comes to academics. But big sis Yang always comes to the rescue when she needs help. We'd been working on homework for about an hour before Blake came back to the dorm from her visit to the library. She took a quick shower and came out followed by a wall of steam. She walked over to our bunks and I heard some rustling from down below before her eyes peeked up from the side of my bed.

"Hey… Can I come up?"

"Sure, Blakey. We were just doing our homework for Professor Goodwitch's class." I moved over to make some space for her. I was actually kinda glad she'd offered to come up. Blake's really smart and could potentially help us out if we messed up on something.

"I haven't started that yet," she sighed softly.

"Well, come on up!" I patted the bed next to me, happily inviting her up. She grabbed some books and crawled up onto my bunk, sitting next to me and opening in her notebook. I watched her for a few seconds before getting back to my own work. I took a deep breath I meant to let out as an annoyed sigh, but was quickly distracted by the scent of something floral. Another quick sniff and I was sure it was coming from Blake.

"Blake? Did… did you change soaps," I nudged her playfully with an elbow.

"…yeah. Is it bad?" Her voice was soft and concerned, like she was worried I might think it was dumb.

"Aww! You've totally got the hots for that Sun guy don't you!" I smiled wide, totally excited my teammate had a mutual crush on someone as hot as Sun Wukong. I'd never seen her face get so red before.

"Can we please just get back to work-"

"No, not until you spill the details! He is one _fine_ piece of eye candy!" I nudged her a little harder this time.

"Yaaaang!" Ruby whined my name, like this was the most embarrassing conversation she'd ever heard me have with someone.

"I'm going back to my bunk." Blake muttered quietly and started to slide off my bunk.

"No, wait, wait fine!" I grabbed her arm just before she slipped off and dragged her back up.

"I'll keep quiet! You'll talk on your own eventually." I giggled quietly and let her go. I smirked and went back to work, trying not to laugh at the grossed out look on Ruby's face.


	6. Novels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and the gang are caught red-handed.

A few days later, Weiss and I were trying not to giggle as we read through another of Blake's romance novels. To be fair, Weiss had been the one to find it! She'd beckoned me over to her bed as soon as I walked into the dorm, eyes wide in an uncharacteristically mischievous grin. Technically, I was just going along for the ride. Weiss was having a blast reading through this book. Apparently it was right up her alley; some princess who'd lived her life locked away by her dad, constantly drowning in the man's shadow, had been seduced by a dashing prince. So far their relationship consisted of awkward giggles, melted chocolate and blindfolds. The situation was just too funny and we were giggling like crazy when we heard the doorknob jiggle.

"Shit!" I dove off Weiss’ bed and hid under Blake's bunk. It took about twenty seconds before I realized the red-trimmed boots at the door were Ruby's, not Blake's kitten heels.

"Are you guys going through Blake's books _again_?!" She stomped her feet, totally pissed at us for doing this for what must've been the fifth time since we'd found where she kept her stash.

"It's getting good! They just got blindfolds," I chuckled, sneakily sliding out from under the bunk. Honestly, the novels were really well written, but I just liked the smut. It was hot and sexy and the way Weiss blushed as she read a seriously graphic scene always made me laugh.

"Ugggh." Ruby stomped towards her bed and climbed up, definitely _beyond_ annoyed with us.

"I'm gonna tell her if you two keep this up," she warned with a pout.

"Hush! Don't be a tattle-tale. We're not harming anyone." Weiss shushed Ruby and hugged her knees to her chest, waiting for me to continue reading. I started reading quieter just so we didn't upset Ruby. About two chapters later we came across an awkward discovery. The dashing prince with the commanding voice and burning gold eyes had turned out to be… another princess?

"What?" Weiss looked at me and took the book, rereading the passage as if I'd misread something.

"She _did_ say she had slender hands…" I shrugged and grabbed the book back. I really wasn't at all phased by the surprise reveal. Princess Isabella was just getting bent over her night table and I didn’t really care whether the person doing it was a prince _or_ a princess.

"Did Isabella know?" I looked up to see Ruby’s silver eyes gazing down at us, full of curiosity.

"Ruby?!" I was really surprised she was invested in the story. She was normally just so innocent. Just _talking_ about _kissing_ made her act so squirmy. I thought she would’ve put her headphones on and tried to drown us out while we read the book. I couldn’t believe she’d actually been listening.

"Just read, Yang!" She was probably just invested in my reading. I used to read to her almost every night when we were kids. I was _almost_ positive it was only my voice that had attracted her attention. _Almost_.

Weiss and I traded smirks and I kept reading. We got through a particularly chocolate covered chapter before we heard the doorknob jiggle again.

"Shit!" I immediately dove under Blake's bed.

"Weiss!" Blake hissed at her angrily. I decided to pick a god and pray.


	7. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to apologize

Blake was pretty upset at us for like, a day. I had to treat her to lunch and dinner that night _and_ promise to spar with her before bed. One last meal on me the next day and I'd almost finished repaying my debt. It was breakfast and she was sitting across from me, being pointedly quiet. I decided to make her break the silence.

"Yang, what are you doing," she hissed at me, totally confused. I kept making silly faces at her, hoping to get some kind of reaction. I made more and more ridiculous faces, trying to find one that she wouldn't be able to resist. I flared my nose, stuck out my tongue, crossed my eyes and- _There it is!_

She looked away, trying to hide her smirk. It wasn't much, but it was enough. I was _almost_ done winning her back, which was honestly super important to me. Blake's one of the closest friends I've ever had and the last thing I wanted was to cause a huge rift between us because I couldn't control my curiosity.

"It always works on Ruby," I chuckled. Faces are just one of the many ways one learns to use to make a little kid stop crying, and not even teenagers were totally immune. Blake rolled her eyes, but I could see the corners of her lips tugging up into a smile as she ate another bite of her sandwich.

"Heeey. No it doesn't!" Ruby crossed her arms and huffed at me, like she'd proved something huge. It was cute when she tried to pretend she still wasn't my baby sister. Yeah, she was a Huntress in training _too_ , but she'd always be my baby sis, and I knew just how to break her. I made a fish face at her and she dissolved into a puddle of giggles and spilled milk. I couldn't help but laugh along with her, and even Blake and Weiss cracked a smile. After a couple of minutes, we calmed down and got back to finishing our food. I gathered all of our plates when Weiss took her last bite of fruit and walked over to the garbage. Blake followed close behind me.

"Forgive me yet, Blake?" I said it as a joke, but it was a serious question. I needed to know if she forgave me. And like, _really_ forgave me, not just pretend forgiveness. She was important to me...

"Well, it's been fun watching you make a fool out of yourself," she purred softly and I could almost make out the beginnings of a smile on her face. Honestly, I hardly ever got to see Blake _really_ smile, so whenever it happened, I was glad it was because of me.

"Buuuuut?" I threw out the trays and and wiped my hands, getting all of the crumbs off my gloves.

"But... I guess I forgive you…" She sighed and rolled her eyes, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Blake. I promise I'll just buy the book myself next time." I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight against my chest, really glad she'd forgiven me.

"Honestly I'm just glad you only got as far as you did." She sighed again and when we got back to the table, she made us _all_ promise not to go through her stuff ever again. She knew we'd never go back on our words after an explicit promise like that.

I was still a little confused about that comment she made. " _Only as far as we did_ "? When Weiss told her what part we were up to, she'd panicked and told Blake about the part we'd been up to last time. A full four chapters back was still before the big reveal of the book. Was she really that afraid we'd find out she was reading gay smut? Did she think we were the kind of losers who would judge her about that? I wasn't sure, but it was something I'd have to think about later.


	8. Bumblebee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang takes her teammate out on a little date. Hijinks ensue

It was late and a school night. The sky was inky black, even though the light of the shattered moon was as bright as it could be. Most students were in bed or finishing up some last minute homework. Not me, and, by extension, not Blake.

"Where are we going," she shouted in my ear over the whipping wind and roar of Bumblebee's engine. My baby could purr pretty loud when she wanted to. She drowned out the honking horns and angry shouts coming from every terrified motorist on the road. Some people might accuse me of being 'reckless,' but I’ve never crashed! Ever. Even if I did, I'd be fine thanks to my Semblance, and cats always land on their feet, so Blake would be fine too.

"I don't know! I was bored!" I actually _did_ have a destination in mind, but if I had told her before we left, she would've said she didn't want to go. She'd made an offhand comment about wanting ice cream, so I decided it was time to get some ice cream. There was a great ice cream parlour that Ruby and I used to go to whenever we came to Vale when we were kids. Honestly I did have my own selfish reasons for wanting to go. I _really_ needed to get out of the dorm. Being cooped up at Beacon for so long was starting to get to me, and I wouldn't let Ruby ride Bumblebee with me until her sixteenth birthday. And I doubt Weiss wanted to try riding at all, so Blake was the only logical choice to bring along.

Bumblebee roared through Vale so fast, everything around us was a blur. Speeding lights and colors, sounds blending together like a kaleidoscope of sensation. The wind rushing through my hair felt amazing! And Blake's arms wrapped tightly around my waist didn't feel too bad either.

"Pothole," I shouted back. Potholes in Vale were few and far between, but when they appeared, they were normally huge. Usually the result of a Dust explosion or someone accidentally dropping something huge and heavy in the middle of the road. Blake clung even tighter as I swerved to avoid it. I had to laugh when she didn't let go. I might’ve been riding a little fast, but come on! She should have some more faith in me. At least now, with her arms around my waist, I could _actually_ push my limits.

I revved the engine and accelerated, eyes on the road as the world flew past us. I slowed just a bit to make a turn, and that's when I saw it... the perfect ramp. Made out of a concrete slab some construction worker had left on top of a low wall that divided the street. I smirked and hit the gas, only to ease up at the last second. Blake buried her face in my neck as Bumblebee soared through the air, clearing a highway.

"YAAAAAANG," Blake hissed my name into my ear.

"BLAAAAAAKE," I yelled back just as the front wheel hit the asphalt. We almost wiped out before the back wheel touched down. One more turn and we were at our destination. I took off my helmet and shook out my hair. Casting a quick glance at Blake, I could tell she was maybe a little less excited than I was about the whole thing.

"Our destination is on our left," I said, trying to mimic the mechanical voice every Scroll spoke in while giving directions. She looked left and realized where we were.

"Yang… I didn't want ice cream _this_ badly," she sighed through her fingers. I couldn't help but laugh.

"My treat?"


	9. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang's gotta make that motorcycle trip worth it. Lucky for her, she knows how to get on Blake's good side

"I'll _walk_ back to Beacon before I let you drive me again." Blake rolled her eyes at me as she slowly ate her ice cream. I’d bought her a triple scoop of black licorice, something she willingly asked for. It sounded like the most disgusting item on the menu, but Blake was almost halfway done with it.

"Blakey, come on. I can't let my favorite teammate walk back to Beacon alone at one in the morning. That's dangerous!" I knew Blake walking back to Beacon alone wasn’t _actually_ dangerous. She’d be able to handle anyone who decided to pick a fight with her- she’s _my_ partner after all. But this was more about me not wanting to force her to walk home than her safety.

"No." She walked a bit faster, forcing me to speed up so I wasn’t talking to the back of her head. There was a nice, woodsy park next to the ice cream parlour I knew she'd find relaxing. There were huge trees and noisy little waterfalls where streams ran under stone bridges before emptying into a small lake. Knowing Blake, she'd want to come back here again with a book and some quiet music sometime in the spring. She really liked nature and being alone in quiet places. Kinda weird, but I guess it’s also kinda nice. She normally let me tag along if I promised to be quiet and I guess I could understand why she thought it was so relaxing. Blake was just really nice to be around, even if we weren't necessarily doing anything _together_.

"What do I have to promise, now? Meals for the week? Doing your laundry?" I chuckled softly, taking another spoonful of my own ice cream. I went with a single scoop of raspberry with fudge drizzle. The fruit flavored ice cream always came with actual pieces of fruit in them, and the raspberry flavor was hands-down my favorite because of it.

"I'd rather not come so close to death again." I couldn't tell if Blake was being serious or not. Close to death? Wasn't that a little dramatic? I thought I proved myself a pretty good driver!

"Come on, Blakey. Don't make me beg. It's chilly tonight. You're always cold, you'll freeze if you try to walk to Beacon by yourself." I nudged her and nodded to a fork in the trail we were following. The divergent path wasn't as well worn as the one we were on, and most people usually stuck to the more travelled of the two trails, but there was something I really wanted to show her. It was the second reason I'd decided on leaving Beacon so late at night in the first place. I led the way and she followed a few feet behind me.

When Ruby and I were a lot younger, we used to come from the ice cream parlour straight to the park. From there, we'd walk the trails until we found one that led to the stream. Sitting by the small river, people could who loved to relax could really enjoy themselves, but for us, the surrounding trees made it easy to imagine giant Grimm watching and waiting to attack. We'd spend hours there, fighting imaginary monsters until dad called and said it was time to leave. As we got older, we stopped going to the ice cream parlour, and by extension, the park. But when I was maybe sixteen, I'd come back here myself a lot later than I had when I was younger. I learned that at night, fireflies lit up the trees, making their own private light show that only people brave enough to explore the park this late could see. And as Blake and I walked into the same clearing Ruby and I used to play in as kids, I could tell the fireflies had way more of an effect on her than they'd ever had on me.

"Yang," she looked around, her amber eyes glowing in the dim moonlight.

"Pretty, right," I asked her playfully. She looked back at me and blushed. Her lips parted for a few seconds, like she was thinking of something to say. I guess she couldn’t think of anything though, because after a few seconds she sighed and sat down in the grass, looking up into the flickering lights. I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders and watched the lightning bugs with her. The shattered moon never caught much light, and it let the stars burn super bright in the night sky while the fireflies held their own little disco. I was entranced by how pretty everything was for a while, before I slipped my arm off of Blake's shoulders to finish my ice cream. Blake leaned against me while I did this, a gentle purr coming from deep in her chest. She cuddled against me, searching for warmth and I was happy to provide. We sat for about an hour before I decided to bug her again.

"Ready to go?" I turned to her and met her eyes. She jumped, as if I'd caught her with her hands in the cookie jar.

"Um… I'm still walking back."

"Come on, Blake. What do I have to do?" I nuzzled her cheek playfully, trying to convince her to let me drive her back to Beacon.

"Hmm… You could let me drive Bumblebee," she smirked as she said it. She knew how possessive I was of my baby. I'd never let anyone drive her before- well, no one except dad and Uncle Qrow when they were teaching me how to ride.

"Fine, fine, you can drive. Just don't scratch her." I got up and offered Blake a hand, Bumblebee’s keys dangling from my fingertips. We walked back to my precious bike, hand in hand. It was a nice night out as friends, and I hoped Blake and I had a lot more nights like these together. I turned to make a joke about it and caught her looking at me again.

"What is it," I asked her curiously.

"Oh… nothing."


	10. Curious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang walks in on Blake doing something pretty dirty

"Blake, what are you doing?" I tossed my bag onto my bunk after walking into the dorm. It’d been a short day of classes and I still had tons of energy. Weiss said she was going to help Ruby with her History of Dust homework in the library, so I was free with Blake for the rest of the day. By the time I looked back at her, she was doing her best at trying to hide something behind her back. I was pretty sure I'd seen her reading a book, but I couldn't be sure.

"Nothing…" She tried to do something with the ribbons around her wrists, occupying her hands as if she'd been doing that the whole time. As an older sister, I saw through the act pretty easily- Ruby often tried to hide a lot of things when I caught her redhanded, like when I found her with her hands in the cookie jar. I couldn’t blame her for trying to hide whatever book she was reading from me, but honestly I wished she'd stop being so secretive in general. We were teammates- _partners!_ And I wanted to learn as much as I could about her.

"Blake. Come on-"

"Yang, please stop," she wrapped her arms around her knees and watched me walk around our room. Her clothes were a little disheveled, like she'd started reading her book halfway through undressing out of her uniform. It was weird to see her like that- she was normally pretty neat and organized, kinda like Weiss. But I realized she was also breathing pretty hard. Her cheeks were red and her chest rose and fell pretty fast, like she’d just finished running a couple of miles.

"Don't worry, Blakey. No need to stop reading because of me. I've got my own books to read, myself." I pulled a random book out of my… _limited_ bookshelf. It was a cute storybook I'd read to Ruby whenever she woke up with a nightmare during the night. It had stories like Goldilocks and the Three Ursai- my personal favorite- and The Ugly Nevermore.

Blake sighed and awkwardly went back to reading her own book. I couldn't tell which one it was- I learned pretty early on that it was pretty common for those kinds of books to not to have their titles printed across their covers like most books do. It was pretty funny when I thought about it.

I used my book to try and distract myself from Blake reading her own story. I didn't want to make her feel like I was being weird or creepy by spying on her, but the blush in her cheeks was a little more interesting than The Three Little Boarbatusk. It was just so cute and entertaining.

She kept reading, her eyes scanning each line of text like an excited kid eating candy, just wanting to get the next, sweeter piece. I was so curious to see what made her act that way.

I really wanted to go see… Should I go see?

_“Nah… self control, Yang.”_


	11. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang puts her foot down.

"She left another book out." Weiss looked over at the book like a dog staring at a bone. Blake must've left it out by accident yesterday after I’d walked in on her. Her page was bookmarked, and everything. I was really tempted to see what the story was myself, but Blake and I had gotten pretty close in the past week. I really didn't want to betray her trust after sharing such a fun night together. It was pretty uncool, and this stupid little smut novel just wasn't worth it.

"Weiss… come on, just leave it alone… We should probably study or something..." I tried my best to get her mind off of it. To just distract her with _anything_ else so she wouldn't try to reach for the book. She obviously had other ideas.

"Leave it? We could at least finish the chapter we were on-"

"Yes, Weiss. _Leave_ it." It takes _a lot_ for me to want to try to put my foot down, and even more for me to actually be serious about it. I normally just go with the flow and just let people do their own things, ya know? But I was here and if I let Weiss do this to Blake again… if I just sat around and did _nothing_ while she betrayed Blake's trust _again…_ I just couldn't let her do that, even if it was something I somewhat wanted to do myself. _Especially_ because it was something I kinda wanted to do myself.

"Fine…" Weiss looked away in a huff, as if I'd denied her some basic right. I mean… I guess finishing the book _really_ wasn't all that bad. But it wasn't _just_ the book. It was _Blake_. It was _Blake's_ book and _Blake's_ feelings and _Blake's_ trust that would be broken, and I couldn't let Weiss do that to her. She reached into her bag and entertained herself with filing her nails instead.

_“Self control, Yang.”_


	12. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RWBY/JNPR sleepover ends slightly differently than expected

"And the footsteps got louder and BOOM! Giant Ursa Major!" Nora roared in her best imitation of the Ursa, which actually sounded a lot like a wounded Boarbatusk.

"It was a Deathstalker," Ren corrected softly. He always remembered all of the details Nora managed to forget.

"But Blake and Yang saved the day and dragged it through the forest by its tail. The last thing I can remember is the sound of armor crunching and that really creepy, scratchy sound Deathstalkers make when they're dying." Nora leaned back happily, arms crossed, she was always so proud at the detail with which she narrated her stories.

"How long have you been having _this_ dream, Nora," Ruby asked her. She was just as invested in the story as I was. Nora's dreams were more imaginative than any book I've ever read. Probably something to do with all that syrup I saw her drink a couple of hours ago.

"She started talking about it a week ago," Jaune answered. I guess it made a lot of sense we wouldn't be the first to have heard about it despite actually being in it.

"So we save the day?" Blake glanced over at me, a smug grin on her face. I tried to wipe the amazed look off my own face. It was the same look I always made when listening to one of Nora's stories about her dreams. They were just so damn entertaining.

"Don't we always," I smirked. She rolled her eyes and shifted positions on her bedsheets, moving a bit closer to our small lantern.

It was team RWBY/JNPR's first monthly sleepover and it’d been going great. We'd turned off all of our lights and dimmed the lantern to tell ghost stories until Nora decided to talk about her dream.

I looked around the room and saw Pyrrha- who was surprisingly pretty terrified- cuddling closer to Jaune and they was just so cute together. Vomitboy was definitely missing the connection, he was too busy messily chowing down on a s'more Ren managed to make with my lighter. It took about a minute to roast the marshmallows just right and get them the perfect shade of brown, but we all waited our turns. Ren's cooking- even with these limited supplies, was just that damn amazing. We told a ton of different ghost stories- Pyrrha even told a few from Mistral we’d never heard before. Ruby and I told our own favorite story of being chased through the woods by a baby Boarbatusk when we were little, and Jaune chimed in with a spooky story about his laundry being replaced with paper towels. We laughed, cuddled up with one another and told stories until almost five in the morning. By then Ruby and Nora had already fallen asleep, and the rest of us were all definitely beyond tired.

"Let's get the dorks to bed," I yawned softly. I watched team JNPR decide on who'd be sleeping with who without even exchanging a word. Ren carried Nora over to Weiss's bunk and tucked her in before climbing in bed himself. I’m pretty sure he’d fallen asleep before his head even hit his pillow. I had to cover my mouth as Jaune tried to climb up onto Ruby's bed. The bunk was tied to the ceiling with tons of rope and swung when pushed too hard. He slipped and fell, landing not so gracefully into Pyrrha's arms.

"Um… thanks, Pyrrha." They climbed up together and that was the last I saw of them before the sheet Ruby used as a curtain closed behind them.

“G’night you two,” I called playfully. Hopefully they’d make out or something during the night. I sighed and reached down, carrying Ruby bridal style to the bunk we were gonna share. On my way there, Blake stopped me, whispering as softly as she could.

"Can I sleep with you, tonight?" She chewed her lip as she waited for an answer. I didn't have a problem sleeping with Ruby, I mean, we'd slept together thousands of times. I almost asked why before I realized that me sleeping with Ruby would force Blake to sleep with Weiss. It made total sense that she wasn't _too_ excited about that idea.

"No problem, Blakey." I tucked Ruby into Blake's bed and told Weiss that Blake and I were gonna bunk in my bed.

"You get to spend the night with your favorite leader," I chuckled, nudging her playfully.

"Oh, quiet, you brute," she sighed back, rolling her eyes as she climbed in next to Ruby.

I jumped up on my bed and reached down to help Blake up. She politely sat on my bed, trying to take up the least amount of space possible before I threw my blankets over her.

"Get comfortable, you dork," I told her. She pulled her head out from under the sheets and smiled a really cute smile at me, the sheets still wrapped over her the top of her head and tenting her ears. I wrapped my blankets around our shoulders before cuddling up to her.

"G’night, Blake," I yawned softly.

"Goodnight, Yang…"


	13. Restless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang watches Blake sleep. Not too creepy, right?

Blake sleeps curled up. I woke up in the middle of the night and found her hugging her knees as she dreamed of kitty things. I'm not sure what actually woke me, but Blake's deep breathing was threatening to lull me back to sleep just as quickly as I’d woken up. It wasn't exactly a snore… no it was too rumbly for that. It was almost like a… like a _purr_.

"Aww,” I whispered softly. Seeing Blake like this was probably the cutest thing I'd ever experienced in my life. I spent _at least_ ten minutes just trying to contain my giggles at my sudden, late night discovery.

_“Go to sleep, Yang. Go to sleep.”_

I closed my eyes and counted sheep, trying my hardest to get back to sleep. I was almost there when I felt something fuzzy flick my nose. I opened an eye just in time to watch her ear tickle my nose again. The top of her head was so close, her ears brushed against me whenever they twitched. I smiled and watched as they moved, attracted to whatever noise happened in the room. Whether it was a sigh from Nora, or a sniffle from Jaune, her ears were like little ninjas directing themselves towards any sound. I made a small click with my tongue and they were instantly focused on me.

 _“Were they soft?”_ Innocent enough question. I slowly moved forward and nuzzled them. They smelled nice, like sugar or something. It was a nice, Blakey scent. Something that I could smell and instantly recognize as belonging to her. She stirred in her sleep and purred.

I was pretty glad I had cute teammates.

After a few minutes I started to drift off again. It was pretty late and I was a very tired Huntress, but yet again, Blake woke me as I was nearly out. She snuggled even closer against me, and tucked her face into my chest. She was definitely still asleep and it really didn't make sense- _oh_.

Sometimes I forget about the effects of my Aura. It keeps me warm and she was just nuzzling into me, searching out that heat. It was cute… she was tiny and her skin was soft and she had nice smelling hair.

_“This is nice.”_

She stirred a bit in her sleep before a soft sneeze woke her from whatever dream she was having.

"Oh, sorry, Yang." Blake tried to move away from me but I wrapped an arm playfully around her. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, and I was honestly fine with some late night snugging.

"It's alright. Warm enough for ya?" I smiled and winked at her playfully. I was rewarded with an adorable ear twitch as she rolled over a bit and stretched. Her back arched and her arms went out wide.

"Are we the first up," she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

_“Yeah, definitely really cute.”_

"Uh… I'd guess so." It was technically a lie but, meh. Who cares?

"Wanna steal everyone's toothbrushes," I asked playfully.

"Yang…"

"Never mind," I chuckled. I'd steal them myself.


	14. Shed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake's a little anxious, but it's no big deal

A few hours after everyone woke up, I decided to spend the day relaxing seeing as I didn’t get much sleep. I was wrapped up in my sheets, headphones on while humming along to some music. Ruby had gone to get free brownies at the cafeteria with Nora and Pyrrha and Weiss was in the library working on a project that wouldn't be due for another two weeks, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when I saw the tips of black, furry ears rise over the edge of my bed.

"Yang?"

I paused my music and slipped my headphones off my ears.

"Yeah, Blake?"

"Would you mind if I read up here? The light is better on your bunk." She looked a little nervous. Like she was afraid I might say no.

_“Why the Dust would I say no?”_

"Come up, you nerd." I scooted over to give her some space to herself. She climbed up so easily she didn’t look real before getting herself comfortable, leaning against the wall and opening her book. I leaned against the wall next to her, stretching my legs out instead of crossing them like Blake. It took a couple of minutes before I realized that she wasn't really reading her book at all. She was looking at my sheets like she'd lost something.

"You okay, Blake," I asked her curiously. It wasn’t too weird for her to be secretive about something, but it always did kind of bother me that she felt the need to do it. Secrets between partners and teammates weren’t good!

"Yes, I was just…" She kept searching, trying her best to avoid the question.

"Is everything okay?" I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to catch her attention. She hadn't brought anything up with her into the bunk last night besides her Scroll, so if she'd lost something it most likely wasn’t here.

"I just wanted to make sure I didn't leave any, um… fur… on your bed," she sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"Oh! It's okay. There was a bit on my pillow." Her cheeks grew so red, and her ears stood straight up. I couldn’t believe she was so embarrassed by this, I _really_ didn't mind.

"But I just brushed it off! It's no biggie, Blake."

"Yang-"

"Ah, ah, ah! It's totally okay, no worries. Trust me, it was a lot less than what I leave on other people's beds. I'm not lion when I say this mane sheds," I said with my biggest grin.

She almost laughed, trust me. No one escapes my puns. No one.

"How many other people's beds have you slept on," she purred back after a moment. She had the worst kind of smirk on, along with this really playful look on her face.

 _“Blake just made a sex joke? A_ sex _joke?! No way.”_

"Go back to reading your smut," I blushed, it was all I could say.

"This isn't smut! This is literary art, Yang!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I raised the volume on my music.

_“What a nerd.”_


	15. Bittersweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team receives some bittersweet gifts.

"What's in it," Ruby asked, poking the box curiously.

"Ruby, don't be a dolt," Weiss scolded her, smacking her hand away before placing the box in her lap. It was a 2 foot cube made of white cardboard, wrapped in a icy blue bow. The Schnee insignia was branded on all sides, and a note was tucked between the bow and the box.

"Best wishes from home. Hope you're doing well. Sincerely, Mr. Schnee." Weiss sighed softly, crumpling up the note in her hand.

"What's wrong, Weiss," I asked worriedly. It looked liked a really cute gift. I wasn't sure why she was so upset about it.

"That… that was his secretary's handwriting…"

It was an awkward few minutes where we didn't really know what to do. I don't think any of us had ever seen Weiss vulnerable before. She looked really, really hurt- like she’d gotten her hopes up and had just been let down. I wasn't sure if hugging her was the best route to take… She wasn't really a hugging kind of person.

"I'm sorry, Weiss…" I took the box out of her hands and Ruby went in for the hug I didn’t give. Weiss sighed softly before regaining her composure.

"Might as well see what it is," she shrugged. She reached for a nail file on her desk and started to cut through the tape that held the box closed. We watched her as she opened the box so slowly- she always took her time with things and made sure to do them nice and neat. Ruby or I would’ve clawed our way through the box by now, desperate to see what was inside.

"Brushes," Ruby asked curiously when Weiss had _finally_ opened the box. I watched as Weiss pulled out four similar brushes. Each one was in a different color, but it took me a few seconds before I realized that they matched each of us. One was black and painted with red trims, the second and third were harsh contrasts to one another- ivory with ebony trims, and onyx with ivory trims, and the last was a cute, strawberry blonde with a lilac trim.

"Here…" Weiss handed us the brushes that were clearly meant for the rest of us. I had no idea what they were made out of, they looked so beautiful and fragile. They had intricate patterns carved into them, with Team RWBY stenciled in glossy paint along the handle. I doubted if they were even meant to be used to brush hair and not just ornaments for one’s bathroom to look classy. Weiss had a lot of expensive looking trinkets and stuff- we'd learned the hard way that even her pillow was made with ridiculously rare Nevermore chick down feathers- but I'd never seen something that looked this inherently expensive.

"Well, tell whomever is to credit we say thanks." Blake took her brush between her fingers, testing the bristles.

I wasn't really too ecstatic about the brushes. It was hell brushing my hair by myself and Ruby’d given up on helping me a _looooong_ time ago. I took it though. Why not?


	16. Sniffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is sick. Fantastic.

"Achoo! _Achoo_!" Weiss groaned loudly before blowing her nose on a really fancy handkerchief. I was pretty sure they were the most expensive boogers I'd ever seen.

"Weiss Schneezed," I chuckled. She'd been sneezing _all_ day. Runny nose, itchy eyes, bad cough and a sore throat. She was totally sick and confined to our tiny dorm. _Great_.

"Say that terrible pun one more time, Yang Xiao Lo- _achoo_!" Even her sneezes were prim and proper. I wanted to make another joke, but I decided she was already suffering enough.

"Yang, I think she's allergic to your puns," Ruby chuckled. Our fearless leader was wrapped up in her blankets on her bed, tentatively looking down on us. To be fair I didn't want her to get sick, so I told her not to get up from her bed or touch anything Weiss might've sneezed on before I cleaned the room.

"She loves them, Rubbles." Everyone loves my puns. _Everyone._

"Weiss? Do you think this might be allergies?" Blake's soft was a little muffled behind her book, but still loud enough for us to hear. She was sitting down in her bunk, her legs crossed while she fidgeted with random pages.

"I'm not allergic to anything but- _achoo! Achoo! Achooo!_ " This sneezing fit was the biggest yet. Weiss blew her nose into her handkerchief one last time and rolled over. Two sniffles and a moan and she was already dreaming.

I locked eyes with Ruby who was trying really hard not to laugh.

"Don't touch anything, okay? And remember to wash your hands," I reminded her as seriously as I could. I didn't want her missing any classes because of Weiss’ cold.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be fine," she sighed, closing the curtain blanket and sealing herself off from the rest of us. I looked over to Blake and realized she was still on the same level as Weiss. Who knew how contagious the Ice Queen might be?

"You'll probably catch what she has if you stay on your bunk, Blakey. Sleep with me tonight!"

"I doubt I could catch Weiss' allergies," Blake shuffled in her bed and reached for her bow. With one hand on her book, she tied it in a really neat bow. She was so great at tying it, and I really felt bad that she _had_ to be that good at hiding who she was. Although I wasn't really sure why she was doing it _now_ …

_“Time for another joke.”_

"Didn't you hear? She's only allergic to sneezes." Ruby giggled a lot harder than Blake did, but Blake’s face _did_ soften a bit when she finished.

"Come on. Free cuddles with your favorite radiator," I promised, sweetening the deal. She rolled her eyes and crawled up into my bed.

"Night, Rubes!" I called before crawling into bed next to Blake.

"Good night guys," Ruby called back. I didn't have to worry about _her_ falling asleep. She was snoring just as fast as Weiss had. I tucked myself in beside Blake and wrapped an arm around her. She pressed her face into my chest and tangled one of her legs in mine, getting comfortable pretty quickly. I _really_ didn't mind. I was always glad to make my friends comfortable, and I was just a comfortable person. I guess it helps when people have two warm pillows to rest against thanks to me.


	17. Allergies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang wakes up and sees Blake doing something she really wishes she hadn't.

_Hot_. I was so fucking _hot_. Everything around me felt like it was on fire and I was being roasted alive. I woke up and sat up, terrified I'd accidentally set my sheets on fire during the night. It wouldn't have been the first time my semblance tried to burn the house down around me. After making sure I was still the hottest thing in the room, I looked around to make sure everyone was okay. Weiss was sniffling in her sleep. Ruby snoring behind her blanket curtain. I looked under my bed to check on Blake, but she wasn't there.

 _“Wait a minute, didn't Blake sleep with me?”_ I didn't have time to think about it. My skin was burning like a bad sunburn, and I could already smell the scent of singing fabric coming off my sheets. I jumped down off my bed, landing silently on a cushion I'd put down just in case I ever fell again. As the grogginess started to wear off I swore I could hear running water.

 _“Is that the shower?”_ I walked across our dorm room and quietly opened the bathroom door, making sure not to wake Ruby or Weiss. Blake was in the shower, which was weird because I definitely remembered her having showered earlier that night. Through the crystal glass I could see she looked… frantic. She was scrubbing her head like crazy and she was… whimpering? Like she was in pain.

"Blake? Are you-"

"I'm okay!" That definitely didn't sound like _okay_ to me.

"Are you sure…? It sounds like-"

"I'm fine!" Whatever it was, she didn't want to talk about it. I sighed and shrugged. It was too late at night for a fight and waking Weiss would probably open the seventh seal of the apocalypse.

"Okay, okay…" I climbed into the empty shower and let the cold water rush over me. My thoughts never left Blake, though.

_“Maybe she'd had a bad dream? Maybe I'd hurt her accidentally during the night?”_

_Something_ was bothering her, but if she didn't want to talk…

The bathroom had turned into a sauna in less than a minute. Apparently I was a _lot_ hotter than normal. _Oops_. Steam poured off me in waves, floating up to the ceiling before sinking back down to the ground. The vapor made tons of patterns in the air and condensed against the cold tiles of the bathroom, leaving even more patterns with tiny drops of water. Normally I could stand in the shower and watch the patterns for hours while I cooled down, but I wanted to catch Blake before she got to bed. I just really wanted to hug her. Let her know whatever was wrong, she would be okay.

I heard Blake turn the water off and followed just behind her. I opened the glass door just in time to catch Blake doing the same. We locked eyes, and stared at each other for almost a full second.

Naked.

 _Awkward_.

I reached for my towel and looked away, before doing a double-take. I thought I'd seen-

"Blake… are you _bleeding_!" She'd already turned away and was reaching for her bow. She didn't even _try_ to answer me.

"Blake, your ears!" I wrapped myself in my towel and walked towards her, careful not to slip on the slick, tiled floor.

“ _What happened?! Did I… burn her?!”_

"Yang... I'd rather not talk about it..." How could she be so calm and distant? How could she act like she was fine? Her ears were rubbed raw, fur thin where just a few hours ago it'd been full and thick and fluffy. What the hell happened?

"But _Blake_ -"

"Yang, can I just get dressed?"

I couldn't just let her continue being so distant. So aloof. Like she couldn't be bothered to care about her own ears. She started to wrap them up in the ribbon and I reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Blake… please talk to me." She bit her lip as her eyes pierced into mine. They looked so much fiercer without the purple eye-shadow, it almost made me look away. _Almost_.

She looked away and sighed softly before she finally answered me.

"Weiss is allergic to cats."

"Okay?" _Cats_? What the hell did that have to do with anything?

"Weiss. Is allergic. To _cats_." She just repeated herself as if that were just some profound statement that excused the blood running down her ears.

"So what- oh!" Her ears…

She pulled her hand away and finished wrapping them up with the black ribbon. I could tell it hurt her as she flinched whenever the fabric touched her skin.

"That's not your fault, Blake!" I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It clearly is." She grabbed her sleep shorts and slipped them on underneath her towel. I couldn't help but be bothered that she'd wrapped up her ears before even putting clothes on. She _still_ wasn't comfortable around us...

"If she was then why is she sick _now_ ? You've been a Faunus your whole life, we only found out about it like, a couple months ago! It's gotta be something else!" It made sense. It made tons of more sense than Weiss being allergic to her _teammate_. To my _partner_. I couldn't believe that.

"Yang, it's me-"

"Stop saying that!" I didn't _want_ to believe it. I didn't want to let her blame herself for this. All her life she'd probably put up with other people treating her differently because of who she was and now she couldn't even be herself amongst the people she'd trusted enough to let know her secret?!

"Yang!"

I anxiously ran my fingers through my hair. It’s this nervous tick I have to help keep calm.

"It's me. It's just the time of year…"

"What?"

"Cat allergies spike during different times of the year, Yang. It might just be that I'm shedding, but..."

"So… you can't know for _sure_ that it's you."

"Yang..."

"Okay, _fine_. Weiss is allergic to you. Blake, your ears! You're hurting... There's gotta be a better way than this. Allergy medicine? One of those little nurse's masks? Anything is better than _this_..."

"She shouldn't have to buy allergy medication to live in her own room. Even our heiress deserves her own space." Her ears twitched under her bow and she winced again.

"I'll buy it for her. You don't have to do this to yourself. You deserve your own space too, Blake…"

"Yang, you don't have to do that. I'll bind my ears again-"

"No. Blake. _This_ I'm definitely doing." I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring down at her. I could tell my eyes had gone red some time during the conversation, and I could feel the beginnings of my skin warming up again.

"Yang, I'm used to doing this. It isn't new-"

"Well you're gonna get used to _not_ doing it. I'll get Weiss her medicine tomorrow." I didn't leave any room for an argument. No way I was gonna let Blake keep doing this and I wanted her to see it in my face that she absolutely didn't have a choice in this.

She sighed and shrugged, slipping the ribbon back off her ears.

"Thanks, Yang…"

"No problem."

"Can I get dressed now?" She tugged at her towel, reminding me that she was still mostly naked under it.

"Oh… oops. Stage fright?" She glared at me but her grin totally ruined the little facade.

We left the bathroom together and I helped her up into my bed. I scratched the base of her ears during the night, trying my best to soothe her raw skin, and she started purring sometime around midnight. Sometimes this girl was _more_ than a handful.


	18. Cramps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake helps Yang out during a difficult time.

"Ugh don't talk to me…" I rolled over onto my side, clutching at my stomach as another cramp tore through me.

"What's wrong, Yang," Ruby placed a hand on my bare shoulder and I nudged her off. My skin felt gross and I didn't want anyone touching me.

"I'm dying. Just leave me alone," I groaned softly and buried my face in my pillow. Everyone just needed to go away. It was one of _those_ days.

"Yang, what on earth could possibly-" It was her voice, so shrill and high pitched. It was like knives in my ears.

"Weiss, _now_ is _not_ the time!" I didn't even have the energy to glare at her as I struggled to keep the sheets from smoldering. Keeping control of my Aura was even _more_ difficult than normal during times like these.

"I'll stay with her. You two go," Blake's voice was soft and smooth, like cool velvet compared to Weiss. She crawled up to sit on my bed and put her hand a few inches where Ruby had put hers, but she kept her hand _on_ my shirt.

"Feel better, sis…" Ruby sighed before following Weiss out of the room.

"Shialaguwnwsjl." I wasn't sure what I'd tried to say, but I doubted it was important.

"Come on, I refuse to be late." Weiss's voice again. This time further away, so it wasn't as irritating. I heard the door slam and Blake sighed a bit too loud. Everything was a bit ‘too’ something right now. Maybe I was a bit _too_ irritated for life?

"It's really this bad this month?" Blake grabbed one of the thinner blankets and took the thick quilt off of me. Then she tucked me in. I tried to respond, but I really couldn't do anything else but groan.

"How about I make you some tea? It should help soothe the cramps."

I groaned again.

I felt her slide off the bed and listened to her footsteps. I could hear her clanking dishes, ripping paper and pouring water, but I wasn't really sure how she'd make the tea- we didn't have a stove in our dorm. I listened to her footsteps come back towards the bed and felt cool metal on my skin. She’d placed the teapot on my side and I _really_ wanted to laugh. Fifteen minutes later and Blake poured the tea into a cup and handed it to me. It was nice and warm, but not too hot.

"Thanks, Blake…" I sighed softly and sipped the tea.

"No problem. It's cinnamon tea with chopped ginger and a bit peppermint. Drink it all, it should help." She watched me as I took another couple of sips, her ears twitching as she did.

“Sorry if it’s not warm enough. And I probably should’ve added some more sugar for taste, I forget you’re more of a coffee person than a tea person. And-”

"Thank you," I groaned softly, shooting her a smile. Her rambling stopped immediately and she looked glad that I liked it. She watched me drink almost half of it before perking up like she’d forgotten something and slid off the bed. I heard her climb back into her bed and get under her covers, I guess getting ready for a nap. I figured she would go back to class, and I didn't want to force her to stay in the room just to wait on me. But I also _really_ didn't want to have to function at all for the rest of the day…

"Blake?"

"Yes, Yang?"

"Can you come back up please?"

She climbed up in a few seconds and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong- whoa!" I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight against me. I honestly just wanted to cuddle, and I was _really_ thankful when she didn't pull away or resist, despite touching my clammy skin. She rubbed my side instead and _gosh_ I wasn't expecting that, but it just felt so good...

 _“Why am I tearing up?”_ Oh, my stomach was turning itself inside out. That's right. I shivered in pain. Normally it's not ever this bad but-

"Oww..."

She pulled her hand back for a moment, then slowly snaked her hand back around, her fingertips massaging the small of my back. Then her palm.

_Dust, that felt amazing..._


	19. Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake can't keep her hands off Yang.

I was back in class the next day. No _way_ I was gonna use that lame excuse two days in a row. But as much as I wanted to power through my classes, my day in general was still pretty terrible. Parts of me were sore that made it hard to concentrate and my eyes kept drifting over to the cute guy two rows ahead of me. He had short, curly, black hair and I couldn't stop imagining tangling my fingers through it.

The second the bell that ended my day rang, I packed my bags and headed straight to my dorm. I showered, changed, and tucked myself into bed. I heard Ruby come in first. Then Weiss followed by Blake. I was already drifting off when someone slid a plate of rice cakes and a cup of tea onto my bed.

"Blake?"

"Trust me, it's helpful," Blake smiled softly and slid the plate a bit closer to me.

"Thanks, Blakey." I _had_ been getting hungry. Just not hungry enough to get up.

She climbed back up on my bed as I ate the food and waited for me to finish the tea before rolling me onto my stomach.

"Bla- _ooooh."_ Her hands dug firmly into my shoulders, my neck, my waist… _Dust_ , when did she enchant her hands? I groaned softly as I bit into my last rice cake.

"Sorry about yesterday, Yang. I forget sometimes," Ruby's face had popped up just beside my bed. I could only see her from her eyes up, and it was pretty funny. My little sister had somehow managed escape puberty until about a year ago. Apparently it's _still_ not a regular thing with her and hasn't been more than just a slight stomachache.

 _“Lucky her_ … _”_

"It was a tad inconsiderate of us," the top of Weiss’ head popped up next to Ruby. I couldn’t even see her eyes. It must suck being short.

"No worri- ugh…" I tried to talk but Blake massaged deeper into my shoulders and I thought I could see heaven. Her hands were absolutely _magic._

"Don't worry about it…" It was all I could say before I fell limp against the bed. I stopped thinking when Blake slid her hands under my shirt and used the heel of her palms to press against my kidneys. God that hurt so good.

"Blake a bit-"

"Lower, I know I'm getting there."

She finally made it there and Dust, I melted in her hands. I have the best teammates.


	20. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who actually likes doing their homework?

Two more days of the same routine and I'd fallen in love with Blake's hands. I think Blake kinda fell in love with my back or something, because she really liked doing it. It was our own little time to bond, but I started to feel bad by the beginning of the fourth day. I felt like I was using her.

"You don't have to do this," I sighed softly into my pillow.

"Shh… What did I say about talking," she hissed softly in my ear. I whined playfully into my pillow until she worked her way to my biceps. Dust, that was amazing.

I told Blake I was fine when the cramps stopped the next morning. She nodded and finished getting dressed. I was sure the massages would stop. Plus, I had to catch up on my work! When class ended I went straight to the dorm for the fifth day in a row. I sat at my desk and started a report Professor Port had assigned two days ago. Beowolf behavior and how someone could track them down without alerting them that you were on their trail. I was about halfway done when I felt slender fingers wrap themselves around my shoulders right where they meet my neck.

"Blake… you don't have to do this anymore." My words came out as gentle moans.

 _Dust_ she's great.

"Shh… What'd I say about talking?" Her breath was cool against the back of my neck and I felt the goosebumps start to form as she spoke. They spread down my arms and I couldn't help but squirm.

She put a little pressure against my muscles and I melted. She'd found a certain spot that made me groan embarrassingly loud yesterday and I had a feeling she'd turn it into a new game. She dug the pads of her fingers against sensitive muscles for a while and got a lot more groans out of me. When she got tired of that, she decided to use her knuckles down my back pressing against my spine and I was absolutely positive I'd need to pay her from now on. She found a spot that was pretty ticklish and I flinched away from her hands, arching my back. I felt it crack in about seven different places.

"Oh god Blake, yes…" I leaned my head back a bit and rested it against her shoulder. I smiled and stuck my tongue out at her. She grinned back and went back to making me melt. Her fingers attacked my sides and I had to scrunch my face up in concentration not to groan again. It was all a trap.

She picked me up in her hands and set me down on her sheets so _fast_.

"Blake!" I squirmed playfully and tried to turn around to face her. All of this was just way too much.

"It's easier here... Don't argue." Her hands found their way into my shirt. Her nails scratched down my back and I shivered.

"Are you okay," she asked softly.

"Mhmm…" I groaned softly into her pillow. It smelled just like her- sweet licorice and berry scented shampoo, with the smell of textbook pages sprinkled in.

"Good." She lifted the back of my shirt and massaged even more intensely. The heels of her palms dug in deep and she made sure to hit _that_ spot a couple of times. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I almost didn't feel her fingers unclasp my bra.

 _Almost_...

I wanted to speak up, but I didn't want to ruin the massage. She definitely didn't have to be so thorough… I felt the straps slip away from my body and her hands went to kneading my back. She kept going for almost an hour. I was sure Ruby and Weiss had already finished class, but I couldn't even think about where they might be. The only things on my mind were Blake, her hands and- _the damn report!_ I reached behind me and patted the backs of her hands, letting her know it was time to stop. She let me go with a sigh and I reached around my back and clipped myself back up. Can't let the girls descend from shadows.

"Thanks, Blake." She nodded and crossed her legs, hugging her knees close to her chest. Her ears twitched and I could see red blush fading from her cheeks.

"I uh… I'll go finish my homework…?"


	21. Heroines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you wanna play a game?

"Wonder twin powers, activate!" Ruby and I bumped fists with our brand new cereal box rings. She had her cloak on over her t-shirt and a cut-out bandana over her eyes she was wearing like a mask. She’d always enjoyed doing the whole superhero thing. I kinda just went along for the ride.

"We have to save the Princess of Schnee from the evil Dark Shadow," she pounded her fist into an open hand, like they do in the X-Ray & Vav comics.

"It's heiress actually." I couldn't help but chuckle at Blake's interruption.

"This is so juvenile…" Weiss sighed as she continued filing her nails. She really wasn't embracing her role all too well.

"Weiss! You're tied up! You're not supposed to talk." Ruby crossed her arms and hushed her.

"Why did I volunteer for this…" Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. She was sitting on top of the dresser, her feet barely reaching the ground. She just really didn't look like she was having too much fun, but she was being nicer than normal about it.

Ruby and I closed our eyes and counted to thirty. The idea was to give Blake enough time to hide in the dorm.

"Okay, Blake, you ready?" It was quiet. I guess that was the signal.

Ruby took the lead, rushing to the other side of the room and- _whoosh!_

_She was so fast!_

I barely spun out of the way, Ruby used her semblance to try and zip around her, but Blake just managed to touch her shoulder.

"Ah! I'm tagged!"

_“Untag her or go for Weiss…?”_

I side-stepped Blake's rush at me and tapped Ruby on the head. Blake was fast and the only way to get to Weiss without losing the game would be to be faster than her. Ruby was our only shot! I jumped at Blake, trying to trap her into a bear hug, but her reflexes almost always made charges like that impossible. She activated her semblance and I ended up grabbing one of her shadow clones. I watched as Blake whipped her ribbon, wrapping it around Ruby's arm, pulling my sis towards her. Ruby was so close to Weiss, we couldn't lose now!

With Blake focused on Ruby I saw my chance. I grabbed her from behind-

SHADOW CLONE!

Blake whipped her ribbon and sent Ruby flying back against the far wall. Then she turned around and tackled me, pinning me to the ground. It totally caught me off guard. I was staring up into her bright, amber eyes as she held my wrists down against the ground. Her dark hair framed her face in the cutest way. Her shirt was new, this one a bit more low cut than her usual pick and I could see some killer collarbone…

_“Is she blushing?”_

"I got Weiss!"

Blake snapped up as Ruby called out and slid off of me and settled on the ground.

"Three points for Strawberry Sunrise! We win!"


	22. Espionage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang follows Blake to make sure she's okay.

I hadn't seen Blake in like, three days. Well, I'd definitely _seen_ her, but she was making a point to come in around bedtime or when we were busy with stuff. Weird.

I didn’t know why it bothered me so much. We were definitely close friends- teammates- _partners!_ But it's not I was used to seeing her all the time like I was with Ruby. I just… I _liked_ seeing her. I liked talking to her. She was really smart and laid back and kind of dorky and was just fun to have around.

The fact that in the past three days the most I'd seen of her is when she’d slink into the room at two in the morning… it bugged me.

_“Did Weiss piss her off again? Was she mad at me?”_

"I'll get to the bottom of this." After class the next day Sherlock Xiao Long was on the case! A knit hat hid my hair and a big jacket I borrowed from Jaune covered my clothes; I’d be totally invisible. I followed Blake straight from her last class to the cafeteria. She ate her lunch while I tried my best to hide behind a vending machine, before I followed her outside.

 _“Where is she going?”_ I followed a decent distance behind her, hiding behind whatever I could to be sneaky. Duck behind a statue. Slink behind a column. Disappear behind-

**Wham!**

That was unnecessarily the loudest sound I'd heard in my life. The garbage can slammed against the floor and spilled out dozens of marbles all over the floor before I could catch it. Luckily, Blake didn't look back. She was way too busy concentrating on something as she walked into a smaller building on campus.

I followed her through a long hallway with tons of doors on each side, and she paused for a second to read the numbers on each door she passed. She stopped about halfway down the hallway and held her hand out to knock on the right hand door. I couldn't read the number from where I was standing. I tried to move up to-

She whipped her head to her left, then right. I hid behind a vending machine just before she looked in my direction. She knocked twice and a bubbly looking professor opened the door like she'd been expecting her. Blake smiled and walked inside, shutting the door behind her.

I ran up to the door after waiting a few minutes. ‘Guidance Counselor Wheat’ was written on a plaque on the door.

_“The Guidance Counselor? We have a Guidance Counselor? Weird.”_


	23. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake's being distant again...

I decided to wait for Blake to come out. There was no way she spent _all_ her time at the Guidance Counselor's, there must’ve been something else she was doing that explained her being away for so long during the day. I found a good hiding spot behind a banner that hung down from the ceiling and waited for her to leave. I climbed it nearly all the way to the top and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I watched Headmaster Ozpin walk down the hallway after waiting almost an hour. Professor Oobleck followed almost fifteen minutes after him. I silently hoped Professor Goodwitch wouldn't come around- she'd find me up there for sure.

Four hours later and my arms were _burning_. I was running out of energy and patience waiting for Blake to come back out. I was considering just walking inside the office and finding out what was going on in there before I saw the door swing open. I hid behind the banner as Blake walked out into the hallway.

"Thank you so much, Professor Wheat… I'll be back tomorrow." Blake looked down at the ground, holding some books close to her chest.

"Please, come back as often as you need. And chin up, Miss Belladonna. I trust you'll figure things out in a way that benefits you all."

"Thank you…" Blake's eyes were red and I was almost sure she'd been crying, but that was impossible. Blake doesn't cry. Blake nodded and clutched at her books even tighter. I looked at the books with a little more interest and realized it was just one book. A binder that held something that looked like a magazine and a beige pamphlet. Professor Wheat gave her a quick hug before Blake walked away. Her heels clacked quickly on the hardwood floor as she left the building.

 _“I've gotta see what's in that binder.”_  

* * *

 

She avoided us all that night, too. I walked in about fifteen minutes after she did and Ruby said she was already showering- Weiss was already asleep. I waited patiently on my bunk for her to come out of the bathroom. When she finally did, she had her headphones on and was listening to loud music. It was obvious she was trying to drown out anyone who might try to talk to her. She climbed into her bunk and fell asleep pretty quickly. I sighed and scanned the room for the binder, the beige paper or even the magazine. I couldn't find them anywhere.

_“I'll have to look while she’s away.”_

If it was something that could make her cry… something she had to see the Guidance Counselor about every afternoon… Something that got her so upset she couldn't tell me or Weiss or Ruby…

_“What if she was getting kicked out of school?”_

"I'll find out tomorrow."


	24. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang finally discovers what's been bothering Blake.

By the time I got back from classes the next day, Blake had already left our dorm and gone off somewhere. I waited for Ruby and Weiss to go to the cafeteria with Team JNPR before I started looking for the mystery binder. I searched _everywhere_ for it. Under her bed, under her pillow, in her backpack. I checked everywhere Blake might hide something as big as the binder and then double checked just to make sure.

 _“Maybe she brought it with her?”_ I groaned angrily as I realized that she must've taken everything with her. Whatever it was, it was so important she couldn't even trust us not to- _wait!_ Trust...

I felt so dirty as I pulled the book out of her bookshelf. She'd hidden it on a shelf behind the rest of her books, but I found it after looking less than a minute. I hated this. Sneaking around, doing the _one_ thing Blake had promised me not to do. But there it was, sticking out from between a couple of pages like a bookmark. The beige pamphlet. I opened the book and memorized the page number before I slipped the pamphlet out.

The pamphlet looked nice, freshly printed and still crisp. Two guys were smiling and holding hands on the cover page and a rainbow flag was in the upper left corner of the front page. The title was printed in big, looping letters.

_Am I Gay?_

I had to read that a couple of times before I really understood what I was holding. I was one hundred percent sure this was the same pamphlet Blake had carried with her books, but…

"Well she's managed to hide more from us." I chuckled softly. Thinking back, I guess it probably made sense. Even Ruby was slowly growing more and more interested in boys, and Weiss and I talked all the time... but Blake never really talked about guys much with me. That wasn't a really huge indication, but, Dust, even the book I was holding was proof that Blake might see girls as sexually attractive.

But why would she hide that from us? Why would she go through so much effort to avoid us and make sure we'd never find out this little part of her? Was she really that afraid we'd treat her differently? Even after the Faunus thing?

I sighed softly and read through the pamphlet. It was pretty good information about sexual orientations and how best to understand your own. Using all the tips, I could tell it worked pretty well, because I got an amazingly accurate answer of _mostly h_ _eterosexual_. I closed the pamphlet and slipped it back between the proper pages. I returned the book back where it belonged and started trying to decide on the best way to approach her about this.

"Should I let her bring it up herself?" No, that didn't sound like a good idea. She'd been avoiding us for the past four days because she didn't think we'd accept her.

_“What should I do?”_


	25. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang ACTUALLY finds out what's been bothering Blake.

Saturday. I woke up around twelve in the afternoon before starting another pillow war with Ruby while she waited to leave with Weiss and Pyrrha to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come, sis," Ruby asked again. She was still kind of uncomfortable being around so many older kids without me. I normally love going with her places anyway, but this time...

"Nah… I'm okay…" I yawned and rolled over. There was no _way_ I was leaving my bed. Ruby sighed and followed Weiss out of the door as they went to grab Pyrrha. I tried falling back to sleep before I heard Blake clear her throat on her bunk underneath me.

"Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah, Blake?" I rolled over and caught her eyes. They always glowed a bit in dim light, and it made them look so much brighter. She was wearing a different yukata than normal, this one was black and red and had a cute ladybug pattern. The black and red pattern suddenly made me think.

 _“Blake and Ruby are_ really _close…”_

My mind kicked into overdrive, thinking of all of the time Blake and Ruby had spent together. And they spent a _lot_ of time together. During class, at the library, during training… All the massages she'd given me trying to butter me up for just this occasion? All the time they'd spend book shopping on the weekends?

I didn’t know what to do- I _froze_. How do you tell someone 'I know you want to date my little sister?' But I _had_ to talk about it. This was _so_ important, not just because Blake and I were teammates, but because Ruby _was my sister_.

"Would you like another massage?"

I snapped back to reality, realizing I'd been staring into Blake's eyes the whole time. I blinked quickly, trying to wipe away the obvious look of shock that must've been on my face.

"Why," I asked quickly. I honestly don’t think I meant to sound so defensive about it.

"… umm…" I'd never asked her why before. I'd never said anything but _yes_ when she offered to give me a massage and now she looked a little confused.

"They relax me. Giving them helps me clear my head," she mumbled softly.

_“A likely story!”_

"Sure. Come on up." Blake smiled at the invitation, climbed up onto my bed and straddled my waist. My shirt and bra were off right away, and she'd even brought lotion? I sighed softly. She really didn't need to do any of this. If there was anyone I trusted with dating Ruby, it'd be Blake. I opened my mouth to say something, but right when I did her hands started their work on my back. Dust, they were magical…

I groaned as she massaged deeper and deeper, sinking her hands into my muscles. I couldn't help but shiver.

She went on for nearly an hour. The lotion warmed my skin as she massaged me and I was almost positive I'd died and gone to heaven. I didn't even mind as her hands started to travel a little lower. She was right at the small of my back, less than an inch from awkward territory, but she'd never gone this low before and it felt _great_. Was Blake really willing to go this far just to butter me up? I sighed softly and decided there really wouldn’t be a ‘good’ time to talk to her about this.

_“Better now than never.”_

"Yang?" She had perfect timing. She'd got me before I'd even taken a breath to speak.

"Yeah, Blake?"

"Would you mind if I brushed your hair?" Her fingertips ghosted along my spine as she spoke.

"Huh?" No one had asked to do that since… Well, a long, long time.

"I noticed you haven't used the brush Weiss gave you… I asked Ruby about your hair once and she said it was hard for you to brush alone. May I help?" Brush my hair? It'd been so long since someone else had done it for me. So long since I've heard that familiar voice tell me just how much she loved me. How beautiful my hair was and how much she loved to brush it… I didn't want to say no, but the emotions were already coming out like a shaken Schnee Cola.

"Um… okay," I coughed softly as I spoke, doing my best to keep my voice from cracking. Blake slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom. She was back pretty quickly, the yellow and brown brush clutched tight in her hand. She sat behind me and brushed for about almost fifteen minutes while I tried to keep a handle on my emotions. The bristles were hard and long, but supple and each brushstroke gently ran through my hair without yanking too hard at my curls and knots. It just reminded me so much of mom…

Why was she doing this? This had to go beyond just buttering me up. Unless she didn't know how much this meant to me. Which I really doubted considering the care she put into each brushstroke.

_“Focus, Yang. Ruby and Blake.”_

"Blake?"

"Yes, Yang?" She never stopped brushing and I was so, so thankful for that.

"Remember how you hid being a Faunus from us for so long?" I was definitely beating around the bush, but I hadn’t exactly had enough time to plan out this conversation. She didn't answer and kept brushing my hair, and I hated that she was behind me because I couldn’t see her face to guess what she was thinking.

"I was just wondering if anyone else was hiding something important they'd like to share. Or if you were hiding anything else." That last question might've totally destroyed any chance of being subtle.

"… what do you mean?" Again, she never stopped brushing, but I was positive that she was on to me.

"Like… uh... what if Weiss is a murderer?"

"Probably as likely as Ruby actually being a superhero." She started brushing a bit slower now, as if she knew I was up to something with the questions I was asking.

"True. But you're the mistress of mystery. Anything else you might be hiding, Blake?" I tried to turn my head to look up at her but she didn't stop brushing, forcing me to keep my face in my pillow.

"Is this your way of telling me you followed me to the guidance counselor's office?"

_“Oops.”_

"Uh… maybe," I responded sheepishly.

"And why were you following me?" Her brushing slowed even more. Her grip changed and suddenly she was catching my knots just a little more painfully.

"I was worried about you. I thought you might've gotten kicked out of Beacon!"

" _Thought_ ? What do you _think_ now?" Her voice sounded like she was just barely containing a hint of anger.

"Uh…" She stopped brushing. I could almost feel her glaring into the back of my head. She was mad I'd followed her and she probably figured I knew about her little problem. If I didn't tell her I was okay with her dating Ruby _now_ she'd probably hate my guts.

_“Now or never, Xiao Long.”_

"It's okay… it's okay if you want to date Ruby." Probably not the best way to put it, but it was short, sweet and to the point. She was quiet. I couldn't even hear her breathe.

"You don't have to massage me, or brush my hair. I trust you… although I'm not sure if Ruby is-"

"Yang… stop." She was _definitely_ pissed now. Her voice had changed from it's normal, airy mystery to a raspy snarl.

_“I fucked up.”_

"Blake, I'm just-"

"Yang. Look at me." I slipped my shirt back on and didn't really know what to expect. Gambol Shroud pointed at my head? Anger? Rage? Anything but the shaking hands and red eyes that lead to tears.

"Blake?" I was so worried that I’d said something wrong-

"It's not Ruby."

I looked at her, a little confused.

_“If it's not Ruby, and it's not Sun…”_

"Is it _Weiss?!_ How could you-"

" _Yang_! Please… just… give me a moment." Blake sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. On instinct I reached up and hugged her. I wasn't surprised she let me hug her, but nuzzling into my chest wasn't something I'd expected. I was just so positive she’d be angry with me, I didn’t understand how she could be so nonchalant about everything.

"I haven't even finished talking this out with the counselor…" She looked down at the ground, her ears wiggling slightly. I guess she was still gathering her thoughts.

"Yang… we've been friends for a while," she finally started

"Yeah?"

 _“Where is she going with this? If it's not Ruby or Weiss… maybe she needs my help with Velvet? Does she even_ know _Velvet that well? Or maybe she isn't even sure if she_ is _gay and I totally just labeled her by assuming-”_

"In the forest… that Ursa…" She cleared her throat and looked me dead in the eyes, her amber pair looking deep into mine. The pieces finally fell into place and the realization hit me like an airship.

_“Ooooooh.”_

"Yang, I've realized I've been having feelings for you. Like… _romantic_ feelings. It was just a crush at first… You came over to me with your sister and I just didn't know what to say… I watched you land in the Emerald forest and I followed you… I don't regret it, I've made wonderful friends but… you… We've spent so much time together, I tried to make it stop but I… It's just gotten out of control recently. You obviously don't have to reciprocate them, but it's how I feel. I just thought you should know… I didn't know how to tell you."

I stared at her a long while. I could tell just how hard that was for her. Putting herself out on the line like that…

_“Say something, you idiot.”_

"Blake, I… I'm not-"

"I know, Yang… I know you're not. And you don't have to be... Honestly, I just really enjoy spending time with you. That's more than enough for me."

That was the most adorable thing anyone's ever said to me.

"Thanks, Blake," I said softly. I wanted to hug her again, but I didn’t know if that’d be mean or leading her on. She nodded quickly, looking down at my sheets.

"Can I continue brushing your hair," she asked quietly.

"Sure thing."


	26. Headway

I woke up in a hot sweat. Everything was hot again. My skin was burning and sweat was pouring down me in waves. At least my sheets weren't on fire. I sighed and took a few deep breaths to wake myself up before remembering that I’d planned on trying something different the next time my Aura acted up. I'd been keeping a thermos full of ice water by the foot of the bed for a couple of days for just the occasion. I pressed the cold metal against my throat, hoping my plan would work.

 _“Hmm… no steam.”_ That was a good sign. It meant I wasn't as hot as I thought I was. I held the thermos there with both hands for a few minutes and I could feel my body slowly getting cooler. Professor Port was teaching us about blood vessels in the human body last week. The class was about where best to apply pressure to an injured teammate to stop them from bleeding out. There're a lot of blood vessels in the hands and throat, which is why it's so easy to bleed out if you're injured there. _I_ used that knowledge to find out where best to apply my cold water bottle. And it was working.

I was glad I'd finally found a way to quickly deal with the side-effects of my Aura, but I was still grossly sweaty. I'd decided to head to the shower anyway and was about to roll out of bed before I heard sniffles. I looked over to Ruby but she was definitely asleep. Weiss was tucked under her covers like a sleeping princess. Her allergies hadn't acted up for almost a week and a half so it didn't make sense that _she_ would be the one sniffling. I had to wait to hear the sniffle again before I realized it was Blake. Was _she_ sick?

I almost looked down to check on her before I heard the sob.

 _“Oh… Blake…”_ I couldn't get back to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Even after the sobbing stopped, it was just too difficult. Knowing that she was crying and I couldn't comfort her.

 _“I'd probably just make it worse.”_ I decided to talk to her the next day, and fell asleep with every intention on waking up before her.

Of course she woke up _long_ before I did and showered while Ruby used the other stall. Then she was gone before I finished _my_ shower. She was gone that afternoon, too. Most likely back to Professor Wheat's office where I definitely couldn't follow her.

I sighed as I curled up in my bed. I felt like shit.

"Would you like to come with Ren, Nora, Ruby and I to eat lunch, Yang?"

"Uh… sure, Weiss." I was glad Nora came along. She would take the attention away from me being quiet the whole meal- I needed the time to think. Nora was good at filling awkward silences with conversation or stories. Unfortunately even _she_ had her limits and finally fell silent after accidentally suggesting she'd marry Ren.

"Hey, have you guys noticed Blake hasn't been around a lot recently," Ruby asked before swallowing a cookie whole. I automatically reached for my hair. Just hearing about it made me anxious.

"She's told me she's been spending more time training at the gym," Weiss answered, nibbling on a carrot stick.

"That's weird… she normally comes to the gym with the team… Did you two get in a fight again?" Ruby pointed another cookie at Weiss accusingly before taking a bite out of it.

"We most certainly have not!"

I really didn't feel hungry anymore. Listening to them talk just sapped my appetite. How could I tell them that _I_ was the reason Blake had become so distant recently. _I_ was her _partner_.

 _“I'll go to the gym. It'll take my mind off of everything.”_ I waited for everyone else to finish their food before I dumped my tray and started walking out of the cafeteria. Weiss and Ruby followed me out as I opened the big, swinging doors just to bump into my partner.

"Oh, hey Blake! We were just talking about you," Ruby said. I couldn't meet Blake's eyes. I was just so embarrassed for her and myself. I felt so _guilty._

"Oh? Were you?" She didn't sound upset or mad or angry. I finally looked up to catch her eyes and she actually looked… _fine_.

"Yeah. It was… nothing big," I mumbled softly.

"Hmm…" She had this weird smile on her face. Like she was happy… Had I just _imagined_ her sobbing last night?

_“No way…”_

She said goodbye and walked into the cafeteria.

_“I need to go to the gym.”_

I was a panting, sweating mess by the time I finished pounding the sand out of a dozen punching bags. Ruby was taking a nap by the time I got back and Weiss was working on her part of a group project Dr. Oobleck had assigned to us. Great. Whenever Weiss was doing school work she was oblivious to the world. Last, I checked for Blake, but, glancing at her empty bed, I figured she was still at Professor Wheat's.

I quietly peeled myself out of my sticky clothes and wrapped them up in my arm. I grabbed my towel and had almost finished wrapping it around myself before the door to the bathroom swung open. Blake was in the doorway looking right at me, wet hair clinging to her face.

_“Awkward.”_

Her face went red almost instantly, but she didn't exactly look away. I rushed to finish covering myself and stepped past her, into the bathroom. Honestly I was just trying to hide the color in my own cheeks.

"Cat got your tongue, Yang?"

I looked back and stared at her like she'd grown a second and third head.

_Did Blake just make a pun?_


	27. Closure

Blake sat beside me in class the next day. She was quiet and mysterious again. She even came with the rest of the team to the gym to train and ate dinner with us. The next day she sat next to Weiss and the day after that across from Ruby and I. Then she was talking with Pyrrha, then with Sun. The weekend came and she was reading a fairy tale with Ruby.

_“Back to her usual self.”_

Two weeks of this routine. Like everything was back to normal.

It was driving me crazy.

_It was like our conversation never even happened!_

We just went back to the same routine. There was no talk about how I felt about the whole situation. No discussion with the rest of the team. Nothing!

 _“Does she really even feel that way? Was she just_ joking _!”_

I couldn't take this silence anymore. I _had_ to talk to her. This was killing me.

Almost three weeks since our talk and I finally had the perfect opportunity. She was reading in her bed. Weiss had just left to go to the library and Ruby had gone with Jaune, Nora and Ren to play basketball.

I looked down from my top bunk and cleared my throat, preparing myself for the conversation I was about to have.

"Hey… Blake?"

"Yes, Yang," she looked up from her book quickly, eyes on mine.

"Can we talk?"

"Mhmm." She closed her book and patted her bed, but I couldn't sit down. I hopped down off my bed and just stood on the balls of my feet, rocking softly back and forth. I had too many bottled up emotions to just _sit down_ and talk.

"Blake, are you okay?" That was probably the worst way to start this off. I'd kick myself for it later.

"Um… Yes? Why?" Blake looked at me like she had no idea what I might've been asking about. Like she didn't even _remember_ the conversation.

"I'm just asking, because-"

"Would you like to sit down?" She patted the bed beside her again. I don't know why that pissed me off so much...

" _No_. I don't want to sit right now! Blake, what's going on? Why aren't you talking to me about this?" My voice wavered as I tried my hardest not to shout and to keep my eyes from changing color.

"About _what_ , Yang? I don't know what you mean..."

"What do you _mean_ , what do I mean?! Blake, we haven't talked about you since our last talk, _weeks_ ago!" I was failing pretty bad at the whole ‘not shouting’ thing.

"About… me?" Blake cocked her head at me like she still didn't understand what I was talking about.

"Yes!"

"Yang… I don't understand. I'm fine-"

"What about _me?!_ " I was shaking, and I could tell I’d lost control of my eye color. Flames were beginning to pour off my skin and I felt hotter than ever. _Oops._

"Yang, I'm sorry. I didn't think to ask you…" I guess it finally clicked for her. Why I was so mad…

"You seemed so okay about it…"

"Well, I'm _not_ anymore!" She flinched away from me like I'd punched her. I kinda felt bad that she was even a little scared of me to flinch away like that… I took a couple breaths to calm down and get my Aura back under control.

"Blake, did you just expect me to forget about it? What am _I_ supposed to do?"

"Yang… what do you think you're _supposed_ to do?"

"I don't know!" I was shaking even more now. How was this so _easy_ for her? Hadn't she just admitted her feelings for me?

Blake sighed and patted the bed beside her again. I bit my lip and crossed my arms, just being stupidly defiant. She did it one last time before I gave in and sat next to her.

"Yang… I'm sorry, but I can't change my feelings for you. I can't stop liking you… but are you really _upset_ about this? I'd expect this from someone like Cardin-"

" _Upset?!_ You think I'm mad at you? For _liking_ me?!" I could tell I’d lost control of my Aura all over again.

_“She thinks I'm mad that she's gay. I can't believe this.”_

"Aren't you," she asked me. Her ears twitched as someone slammed a door out in the hallway.

" _Now_ I'm furious! Did you honestly think I would be _mad_ that you liked me? What kind of person do you think I am?!"

"Yang, I can't know how you _feel_ unless you tell me… It's the same way you couldn't know how _I_ felt until I told you." That made sense… but I was still upset she'd think I was such a shitty person.

"So what _do_ you feel?"

What _did_ I feel…

"I'm embarrassed."

"Why?" She looked really nice. Her legs were crossed, her arms folded. Like a cute model posing for a photo shoot.

"You saw me naked." I couldn't help but let out a shaky breath. The situation itself was kind of funny.

"Sorry about that…" Blake patted my thigh softly, her fingers on my skin for the least amount of time possible.

"That's not your fault… I should've just taken them off in the shower anyway…" Her ears twitched again as someone else slammed a door. I had no idea what was going on outside, but it must've been loud.

"I'm embarrassed for you, too," I admitted.

"Empathetic? Why?"

"I don't know… I'm just picturing myself in your place… I know what it feels like to get rejected…" Well, _I_ didn't… but a few guys and girls I knew back at Signal made it _very_ clear what it felt like when I rejected them.

"Yang, I'm fine. I'm actually happier than I've been in a _long_ time. You said no. It hurts but… I'm not _entitled_ to your affection. And honestly, the affection you already give me is more than enough."

That was unnecessarily cute…

"I feel awkward…"

"Why?"

"I'd never had anyone actually like _me_ before. I mean… guys and girls have all asked me out before but… they didn't even actually _know_ me. You _do_ and… I don't know."

She looked up, staring at the bottom of my bunk. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

"If it's any consolation I doubt I know you as well as you think I do. I couldn't even tell you were having a hard time processing this. I'm sorry."

"Quit apologizing… it was my fault. I should've tried talking to you before. Like you said…" I shrugged, trying to brush off the guilt I felt.

"No… _I_ should've followed up with you about it. Professor Wheat even suggested I should after I spoke to her about it. I thought I could just get through this without following up and I _did_. I didn't understand that the follow up wasn't necessarily for _me_ …" She watched me for a bit, and I couldn't do anything but stare at my toes.

"Anything else," she asked softly, her voice was all grumbly as she spoke so low.

"… I'm sorry," I said after a long pause. I felt so stupid after all of this.

"Why?"

"For making this about me. For assuming you'd be embarrassed or something. That was wrong of me…" I looked to her and I don't know what I expected. It definitely wasn't the smile on her face, or the way her ears perk up when she's happy.

"I'm fine, Yang. I was a member of the White Fang for years. Every day I had to risk my life for 'the well being of Faunus everywhere.' We didn't have time to _feel_. We were so busy being _Faunus_ we didn't have time to be… _human_." I looked into her eyes. She looked so happy, she was practically glowing. She reminded me of Ruby when someone hands her a fresh baked batch of double chocolate chip cookies.

"And then I met all of you. And Ruby's great and even Weiss is growing on me and you… you make me the most pleasant kind of happy…"

I couldn't remember much of what happened after that. There was a hug. A smile. A joke. Why did I feel _worse_?


	28. Confusion

The next few days I tried to push this growing feeling aside, but there was something really wrong…

"Today, class, you'll be working in pairs to identify specific weak points on the Grimm on the models on your desks. Good luck." Professor Port's class was always so damn boring- _everything_ is a weak point when I'm punching it. I looked to Weiss and somehow she'd finished the assignment before class and was using the spare time to file her nails. Ruby ran to my side a moment later, taking the empty seat beside me. Sometimes I'm still surprised by how fast she is.

"Team Strawberry Sunrise," she held out an open hand for a low five.

"Team Strawberry Sunrise!"

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Blake was working with Velvet. I couldn't tell what Grimm they'd been assigned, but whatever it was, it was a big one.

I glanced over my shoulder a lot that class. Blake met my eyes once and smiled. I almost smiled back before Velvet placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder, tears in her eyes while she laughed as quietly as she could. I'd never seen Velvet laugh before. I'd never seen Blake smile so wide.

I'd never felt so uncomfortable.


	29. Clarity

Gym, class, homework, projects. Dinner, RWBY/JNPR sleepover, lunch, breakfast-for-lunch, showers, books.

Everything was back to normal between Blake and I, but nothing felt the same.

_Why?_

It was Blake. Just Blake.

Whenever she was around I just couldn't think straight.

_No, that's not a fucking pun!_

I wasn't sure what it was about her that'd changed. Or maybe nothing had changed at all?

"What  _is_  it?"

I couldn't figure it out. I just couldn't put my finger on it. This feeling that I'd been feeling…

I couldn't get to sleep most nights because I was thinking about what could possibly be wrong. I honestly wasn't even sure if I felt  _differently_  about Blake. Just that whatever feelings I'd had were stronger. Not being able to figure it out totally sucked. It was like taking a test and totally blanking on all of the answers.

I didn't end up piecing it together for another week.

I was at the gym, trying to vent all of my feelings out on a punching bag. I'd been going to the gym often that week, sometimes twice a day. I'd destroyed every punching bag in the gym and even dialed up a few course rooms. I didn't care if my knuckles bled afterwards, I just needed to  _hit_  something.

_Maybe it's her ears? No way it was just her ears. I'd stopped playing that stupid game weeks ago. They wiggled. So what? Now they were just…_

I sent a right hook into the punching bag and sand sprayed out like a fountain. I didn't stop hitting it. I'd clean it up later.

_Maybe it's the way she laughs with Velvet now?_

Now, I wasn't jealous of her and Velvet… That was stupid. Blake was allowed to have friends.

_Maybe it's the way she reads to Ruby?_

She'd started reading to her a lot more often. Fairy tales and fables and short little stories that always ended in 'happily ever after.' It was just really nice and sweet of her to do that when I didn't have the time to.

I punched the bag again, knocking it clear off the chains.

" _Fuck!_ " I could feel everyone staring at me. I'd gone through seven bags in less than an hour and everyone could tell there was something wrong. I could hear the whispers and the under-the-breath giggles as people made jokes about what could possibly be upsetting me.

I took a break to breathe. I was just so pissed that I couldn't figure out  _why_  I was feeling so crummy.

 _Is it her hair?_  No, she'd kept the same hairstyle all year.

 _Is it her eyes?_  No, they were obviously the same eyes I'd met her with.

 _Is it the way she walks in her heels?_ Dust, she looked great in those heels. The way her hips swayed and the way they made her posture so freaking perfect. But it was more than the heels, because her leggings shaped her already perfect legs just so damn beautifully. But it was more than her heels and the leggings. More than her clothes. More than even the little black ribbon that I'd been seeing less and less of wrapped around furry black ears. It was more than even her butt-

_Wait what?_

_Ooooooooooooh._

_I guess it_ was  _a pun._


	30. Growth

I went to Professor Wheat's office the next day. I could've gone to any other counselor's office, but I wanted to talk to someone who knew Blake on a more personal level. I knocked on the door and she smiled at me before leading me inside her office. There was a small waiting room outside of whatever room she actually used to talk with students, and a ton of magazines decorating a coffee table. I noticed Schnee Magazine was on the top and I almost cracked a smile.

"Please watch your step," she warned me right before I'd almost tripped on the doorstep. It was a bit higher than the rest of the floor and just caught the tip of my boot. She held the door open for me and I walked inside. There were tons of paintings and sculptures adorning her walls and shelves. The room smelled like peppermint and baking bread and was warm and nicely lit. There were two comfortable looking suede couches facing each other. She gestured to one and I sighed softly as I sat down. I'd been planning this conversation all night, but now that I was sitting in the room, I couldn't remember the plan at all.

"Good afternoon, Miss Xiao Long. I'm Professor Wheat. I saw you'd requested an urgent meeting, is there any emergency I can help you with?" Her voice was so soothing- relaxed but pointed. I could tell she was great at her job.

"Yeah, I… um… you can call me Yang." I don't know why that had bothered me so much. I hadn't planned for anything that didn't directly involved talking about Blake, and here I was bothering about a name.

"Of course… Yang?" Her eyes lit up as she said my name, like she recognized me.

_“Blake has probably told her all about me…”_

"I, um…" I looked down at the ground. I'd been thinking about it all night. I definitely liked guys. I'd even hooked up with a couple back at Signal. I'd never even thought about girls romantically or sexually before. I just… I just wasn't attracted to _girls_ . But I _was_ attracted to _Blake_. As ridiculous as it sounds, I realized I was attracted to Blake and everything about her. Her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her ears, the sweet scent of her breath and the licorice smell that clung to her clothes…

"I have this teammate… I didn't think…" I felt a lump form in my throat. I tried to swallow it down, but it wouldn't go away. I didn't think this would be so hard. This wasn't what I'd planned for.

"Well… I like her… I didn't realize it until yesterday… I've been so stupid. She told me she-"

I was interrupted by a knock on the door and I almost jumped out of my seat.

"One moment, Yang." She walked out of the therapy room and into the waiting room. The door swung closed before I could see who was at the front door. I didn't even realize I was shaking.

 _“How can this be so hard?”_ I wasn't used to being so… _emotional._ I didn't even notice when Professor Wheat came back in and and took her seat across from me. I was off in my head, staring at the bouquet of blooming white roses on one of her shelves.

"Would you like to continue? Something happened yesterday?" I snapped out of my thoughts, but words were still struggling to come to me.

"She… I don't know… it just happened. It just kinda, clicked!" None of this was in the plan. I _never_ made plans but now I couldn't just go with the flow like before. Nothing was working and I was stuck and I just couldn't piece anything together.

"Would you like to elaborate? I'll try to help you as well as I can." She sounded sweet and genuine. I wondered how many times she'd dealt with these kinds of problems before.

"Bla- the uh- the teammate. It just... clicked."

"Well, Yang, if you're looking for relationship advice-"

"It's not just that... it's not exactly a _traditional_ relationship..." I meant relationships between teammates. That was just… it didn't feel _right_. It could cause a huge rift between the team if it ended badly. It could cause a rift between _us_.

"Ah… I see. Well, if you feel you're questioning your sexuality, I have these very helpful-"

"No! No… don't give me those pamphlets. I don't care about labels. It's not _about_ that."

"Then what _is_ it about, Yang? I don’t think I’m following-"

"It's about _Blake_! It's about _her_ , not girls! It's _everything_ about her! I've never felt this way about _anyone_ before! Yesterday... I realized that it's not just about girls or guys or genders... Life isn't _about_ that! Life's too _short_ for that! It's about an _individual_ , y'know? Like, Blake… oh Dust... I looked her right in the eyes and said _no_. I actually said _no!_ And it was a _lie._ It was a lie then and it's a lie now. I thought I couldn't be attracted to _her_ because I wasn't attracted to _girls_ , but I'm attracted to _Blake_. I only met her because I was dragging my sister to try and be more social, but she was pulling and begging me to stop and I _would've!_ I totally would've stopped and left her alone but I saw the girl she was talking about. I saw her reading some book and... I think I kinda wanted her to look at me the way she was looking at that book." I don’t know when I'd stood up during my little talk. My voice was cracking, my eyes were red… I crossed my arms over my chest and awkwardly sat back down on the couch.

"Sorry,” I said quickly. She nodded patiently and thought for a few seconds.

"How do you feel about your current interactions with her? After your talk?" Her voice and questions started to calm me down as she spoke. I didn’t know if she was specifically trying to or not, but it was definitely working if she was.

"I feel terrible… we've been talking like everything's back to normal."

"Isn't it? Has there been a difference-"

"I don't _want_ normal! I want… I want _more_. I want more from her, more from me… More from _us._ " The feeling of wanting to punch something resurfaced for a quick second.

"More what?" She reached out and handed me a tissue. I hadn't even realized my eyes were tearing up. I was really out of whack with my emotions.

"I don't know… a relationship. Maybe? I've never had a real one… I mean, I've hooked up before, but… ugh..." It was so difficult to explain. My first few boyfriends had been the hottest guys in school, but they'd all been so… uneventful. They were nothing special. Just regular people with no shining qualities. But _Blake_? Everything about her was just so amazing… I touched my boot heels together, looking at the angle they made against the pattern of the hardwood floor.

"Maybe you should ask Miss Belladonna if she still feels the same way towards you?" She stopped trying to pretend she didn’t know who I was talking about. I felt a lot more comfortable when she did.

"Hmm? How?" How could I just bring up that old conversation again? I didn't want to make her uncomfortable about a situation she already assumed was buried.

"Simply ask her if she still thinks of you as adamantly as you think of her." She made it sound so easy.

"So like… just ask her out?"

"If you so choose."

"What if she says no?" I'd never asked anyone out before. It sounded like the most unpleasant experience ever and I did _not_ envy anyone who'd had to do it. But _me_ asking _Blake_ out? Just thinking about it made my throat dry.

" _You_ did. Blake seems fine."

"I… don't think I can do that."

"Why not?"

"I'm not as strong as she is. She handled everything so well… I don't think I could even gather the courage to ask, let alone hear her say no…" I wanted to punch things. Work out all of my gross emotions on some unlucky sandbag. Professor Wheat waited a long time before asking her next question.

"Do you believe hearing a definitive answer could be as harmful to your emotional well being as this… uncertainty?" This time, I had to think for a while. Hearing Blake say no would suck, but… No way it could be worse than this. We'd get over it. We were teammates, after all, and at least with a definite answer I'd be able to go back to being her _friend._

"No," I answered.

"Then I believe it might be best to ask…" It took a really long time before I was able to look up. Her eyes were a really soft brown color that made her face look genuine. I could read every emotion she was feeling through them, and she honestly seemed so concerned and hopeful for me.

"… thanks Professor. Have you… have you ever asked anyone out before? Is it hard?" Her eyes glanced over to the door behind me and I realized she'd probably agreed to talk to me during her lunch break. Her next appointment must be in the waiting room.

"Yang... I believe it's going to be a lot easier than you think."

That put the last fears I had about this to rest. I let out a deep sigh and shook them out like old cobwebs.

_“I'm gonna ask her.”_

I was totally gonna ask Blake out. I was gonna track her down and find her and scream my heart out to her. I was gonna tell her just how much I wanted to hug her and hold her and kiss her and, Dust, even if I could just gaze into those intense, amber eyes some more I'd be happy. I stood up and shook Professor Wheat's hand, already walking towards the door.

_“Where would she be right now? It's already after class. Maybe in the library-”_

_Bam!_

I tripped over the stupid door-stop and landed face-first on the floor. I shook it off and looked up embarrassedly, expecting to meet the eyes of someone who was just as torn up as I was when I'd come in. Bright amber wasn't at all what I'd been expecting...

"Had a nice fall?" Blake reached out a hand and I took it.

I hugged her so tight before I dusted myself off.

"You should probably Leave the puns to me, Blakey," I suggested.

"No promises."


	31. Together

We talked for hours after we left Professor Wheat's office.

"Honestly, I'm a little nervous. What if it doesn't work out? We're still partners..."

"Blake, don't be all pessimistic _now_." Her concern was something I'd already considered. I figured it'd be best to just go with the flow.

"We'll cross that bridge if we ever have to get to it," I said. I _really_ never wanted to get to that bridge though.

Blake and I walked through every tower on campus. We stopped by every fountain and walked up and down nearly every flight of steps.

"So have you ever-"

"Yang, please stop." Blake was _blushing_ as she interrupted me. To be fair, it _was_ a pretty personal question.

"Come on, Blakey. You can tell _me_." I nudged her playfully. I _really_ wanted to know. Not in a 'I need to know because it affects our relationship' kind of way, but in a 'I'd like to know because it's something fun to talk about' kind of way. Her ears twitched as she clutched her books tighter against her chest. She sighed before finally mumbling under her breath.

"Once or twice… maybe more..." I hugged her tight when she finally answered, definitely not a reaction she'd been expecting.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one!" Her eyes widened in shock and embarrassment.

"What!"

"Oh, come on, Blake. I'm _seventeen_ years old! Of course I've masturbated, who hasn't by our age? But it might've been a bit more than once or twice." I chuckled. I didn't mind talking about this with her. I didn't mind at all.

"You won't have to do that from now on," she grinned and nuzzled my neck, lips brushing the shell of my ear. I was locked in place, jaw open in shock as she walked ahead of me. I don't think I've ever blushed in my life, but I was positive I was doing it now.

"H-hey! Wait up!"

"Crap, I've gotta tell Ruby." Just thinking about that conversation felt terrifying. _Hey, sis, nice sweater, by the way I'm dating our teammate, oops!_

"You won't have to tell her alone." She wrapped one of her hands around mine, amber eyes burning wickedly intense.

"I… I'd like that," I nodded slowly.

It was long after dark and we were still circling campus.

"Blake, it's not a label you should care about!" I couldn't believe she'd even brought this up! It was such a ridiculous problem I didn't even want to talk about it.

"But it's still another label, Yang..."

"Blake, _I_ don't mind. And I dare someone to _try_ and do something to either of us." I wasn't afraid. The only people who were against same-sex couples were disgusting old people born generations ago, anyway. Their words meant nothing to me and our generation. Their ideologies and prejudices would die with them.

"It's not the actions that hurt the most, Yang." Blake looked down at the ground. Her bow twitched and I was reminded that same-sex couples might not be a problem in this day and age, but a Faunus dating a human… There'd be disgusting whispers and rumors about _both_ of us...

"Blake. I don't care that you're a Faunus. I don't care that I'm probably bisexual. _You're_ gorgeous. _I'm_ gorgeous. Let's be gorgeous _together_. That's all there is to it." She hugged me tightly as we walked and I wrapped an arm around her waist. I guess that was all I needed to say.

Seven hours later we'd made it to our dorm just after curfew.

"Open the door, Rubbles! We need to get in!" I banged impatiently on the door. If Professor Goodwitch caught us out of our dorm at this time...

"No, go away! This is _my_ room now."

Blake finally found her Scroll in her bag and swiped us inside.

"Prepare to meet your doom, Ruby Rose!" I growled loudly, pointing at my sister who was eating some tortilla chips.

"Yang, I met you forever ago," she rolled her eyes, throwing a chip at me.

"Silence, mortal! Prepare to taste oblivion," I continued, grabbing the chip before it hit me and crushing it in my fist.

"Yang, what on Remnant are you going on about," Weiss asked. She stuck her head from out of the bathroom, clearly she'd been doing something important in there.

"Your doom!"

I looked back in shock. I think we _all_ looked in shock.

"Blake... did you just introduce Weiss to her doom?"

_Oh, this is gonna be great._


	32. Distractions

Everything was _finally_ back to normal. Well… better than normal… things were _perfect_.

Except homework. That got a whole lot worse.

"How on Remnant do they expect us to get all these projects done at once and still keep up with our combat training?" Weiss growled and almost snapped her pencil in half in a very un-Weiss-like way.

"I give up. I'll become a hobo." I yawned loudly and threw my book down in frustration. It that time of the year where studying for midterms was in full swing and I just didn't have it in me to study as hard as I needed to.

"I'm exhausted…" Blake rested her hand on mine. It was an absentminded, barely there touch. I looked down at our hands just to make sure it was actually happening and she smirked softly before nuzzling my cheek. She knew what it did to me. We'd barely been dating a week but she knew exactly how to make my heart race. She felt my pulse quicken and a smug smile crossed her face again.

"Maybe we could do Professor Port's project? It's a lot of work, but it should be the easiest…" Ruby looked through her organizer, checking each project we had to do.

I think we _all_ sighed in exasperation. Doing Professor Port's project would mean starting an entirely new project, even if it _was_ easier. But Ruby did have a pretty good point. Either way, I really didn't want to get up. It'd mean Blake letting go of my hand, which was something I was pretty reluctant to let happen.

We both got out of my bed and grabbed the books we'd need. I'd never reached for my binder so quickly.

When we'd climbed back on my bed, we sat back to back, leaning against each other. Just feeling her there was enough for me, even if I couldn't see her. Even if we weren't talking.

But there was just so much work to do. We spent the next three days working on projects, reports and other assignments, all while studying for midterms. Somehow Blake and I still found time for hand holding and awkwardly gazing at one another for maybe a couple seconds too long. I thought it was pretty funny when that happened. I once caught her staring at my thighs for a solid minute. She'd caught me staring at her collarbones on six different occasions.

Three days of this and we we'd finally finished the last of our assignments. We handed them _all_ in, even the ones that weren't due until the next day. We were just glad to be free.

"Thank Dust that's over," I never wanted to see another piece of homework for as long as I lived.


	33. Transcendence

It was finally Friday.

_The weekend. Weekends are great._

Blake and I finally got around to speaking to Ruby. She was practically buzzing as we told her.

" _Guys, oh my Dust, I'm so happy for you two! Blake you're gonna love Yang oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"_

We also decided to tell Weiss. She was a bit less excited.

" _Make sure this relationship doesn't affect this team, you two."_

Blake and I had decided to go back to the clearing by the river. Winter was starting in Remnant and the fireflies would be putting on their last few shows before the adults died off. Blake had wanted to see it one last time and I couldn't think of a better way to spend our official first date. We grabbed a picnic blanket, and a couple of books and loaded them onto Bumblebee before we left.

We got there just before sunset. The fireflies were just starting. The little pinpoints of light started off as just a few dozen different bugs, but the rest of the clearing quickly woke up, shining their lights bright. It was like watching thousands of stars flicker into and out of existence every few seconds. I wrapped an arm around Blake's waist and held her close to my side, just in case she got cold.

We'd been quietly watching the show for about a half hour before I realized Blake was kinda distracted from the actual  _show_.

"Blake?"

"Yes?" She looked away, pretending to have been interested in a nearby tree.

"You're doing it again." I smirked, nuzzling her cheek playfully.

"Doing what?" I could feel her start to blush. Her ears twitched less and less and a purr started from deep in her chest.

"Avoiding me…" I pulled away to give her some space. I wanted to make sure she was okay. Make sure that she didn't have a problem with any of this. She met my eyes after a while, looking coy.

"Sorry, I… was lost in thought."

"What kind of thoughts?" I asked curiously. It was just a question and I didn't really mean anything by it, but when her face went red as Ruby's cloak, I realized it was a lot more than  _just_  a question.

 _Oooooooooh._ Those  _kinds of thoughts._

I reached down and took her hands in mine. I entwined our fingers together and stroked her palms with my thumbs. It was nice, gentle contact that I knew she wouldn't shy away from. Wouldn't make her too uncomfortable. I'd realized that while I was really open with sharing the dirtiest of thoughts that floated around my head, Blake was a lot more conservative with  _her_  thoughts. After I while, I'd kind of decided it was because her thoughts were a lot raunchier than mine. Those books she read were great sources for ideas.

"I have those kinds of thoughts often, you know? About you… I even had a wicked dream last night… I'm just glad no one else heard me." I brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Her face went from fear and terror, to being colored with the blush of embarrassment.

"I… I thought I'd heard something during the night…" She waited a long time before finally saying what was on her mine. Honestly I could've waited forever. Her eyes caught the shine of every firefly behind me and sparkled and shimmered like pools of honey…

_Wow that was poetic. I should write a book._

"Yang?"

"Yeah, Blake?"

"I… I want to kiss you… but I'm not sure how I'd go about that..." Her cheeks were still red. As if she were embarrassed. I smiled and leaned towards her. I watched her eyes widen in shock as I got so close to her lips. I stopped almost an inch away, waiting for her to bridge the gap between us.

"All you have to do is ask," I chuckled softly. I licked my lips and  _yeah_  maybe I was pouring on the sex appeal a bit too strongly, but  _Dust_  watching the flustered look on Blake's face was amazing.

Her lips finally crashed against mine.

She wasn't the  _best_  kisser in the world, but she still made my heart race.

_I'm kissing Blake!_

My eyes slowly closed and I cupped her face in my hands. She purred and mewled and made the cutest noises I'd ever heard. It was obvious she didn't have too much experience kissing. Her hands roamed my body and grabbed at my jacket. Her breathing was fast and erratic and she her tongue slipped between my lips. It made my own heart race.

_Just how badly does Blake want me?_

I pulled away softly and she whined in protest.

"Slow down, Blakey… we've got all night." My lips pressed back against hers and seconds felt like hours. The world seemed to melt away, and suddenly we were two cosmic beings sharing a kiss as stars died and were literally birthed into existence before flickering out all around us.

_Damn, I should definitely start writing that book._

Blake was the first to finally pull away, trying to catch her breath.

"Wow…"

"Mhmm…" It was all that needed to be said between us. We watched the fireflies continue their show for another few minutes before I finally decided I  _really_ liked the taste of licorice. I kissed at her cheek and she quickly turned to press her lips against mine.

We kissed again.

And again.

And again.


	34. Tease

The closer we got, the more we learned how to mess with each other.

I genuinely liked to mess with people, but Blake was a predator. Cold, smooth and calculating. She'd figured out the easiest and most effective ways to make my stomach do flips. And it didn't matter where we were. Just like a cat playing with a mouse, she'd tease me just to watch me squirm. Sometimes even right in plain sight.

"Ugh… I hate this class…" Professor Port was going off on one of his anecdotes about saving a small village from a Grimm attack. I was never sure whether or not to take notes during these stories.

_Is this gonna be on the test? Should I write down what kind of medal he won?_

After a while I set my pen down, deciding that taking notes on his speech just wasn't worth it. I looked to Blake, who'd been sitting beside me nearly every class since we'd started dating. Watching her, I could tell even  _she_  was having a hard time concentrating. I sighed and tapped a soft beat with my pen. It was a habit I'd had since way before Signal, so it was hard to break. Even harder to break when my girlfriend always took it as a sign to tease me.

I felt my cheeks turn red and I refused to look her in the eye as she leaned in close. She was so close, I could feel her breath against my the hollow of my jaw. Her hand wandered down to squeeze my leg above my knee, gently kneading the muscle. The scent of licorice made y head spin.

_Dust, I thought I told her not during class!_

She drew it out so long. Her lips were so close to my skin. I felt my breath catch in my throat. I knew she could feel it too.

Her fingers slowly wandered north to play with the hem of my skirt. She tugged softly and each little yank made my heart was race even faster.

_Blaaaaake!_

My fingers curled against the desk, I could feel my nails scratching grooves into the wood.

I could still just barely feel her soft lips-

_Riiiiing!_

With a smirk, she gathered her books and left.

"See you next class."

My palms were sweating, my heart was racing. My tongue felt heavy and the warmth between my thighs wasn't the only odd feeling I had.

I was gonna have to stay in my seat for a bit longer…


	35. Routine

We started holding hands to and from class. Actually, we started spending a  _lot_ more time around each other. Blake would rest her head against me or gently kiss my jaw and I'd just wrap an arm around her and blush like an idiot. I couldn't really help it, where she was content with cute little pecks against my neck, I wanted to pin her down and make out.

I think spending time at the gym, combat training was the most fun. Blake would take a few minutes before training to wrap my hands and we'd see who would end up kissing who first. I normally one those. She just couldn't keep her lips off of me.

I found out that I actually loved the Course Room.

"Okay, so I'll start high and go low, you start low and we meet in the middle?" We sized up a huge target that'd taken the shape of a Deathstalker. Apparently Dr. Oobleck had managed to find some way to upgrade the room to make dummies that turned into huge Grimm. It led to a lot more sore students, but way more fun training sessions.

"You can hit it all you like on top,  _I'm_  going to need to outrun those legs," she hissed at me.

"Well it's a good thing you're faster than me," I smirked.

"Plus we need all the muscle aimed at the tail." We sidestepped the next jab the tail made, waiting for our perfect opportunity to strike.

"You're  _all_  the muscle," she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Okay,  _most_  of the muscle."

We'd started training together so often we got really good at working together. That wasn't really a  _problem_  but we hadn't trained with Weiss and Ruby in almost a  _week!_

Blake even started sleeping in my bed more and more often. She'd climb on top of me, rest her head on my chest and curl up into a ball while I stroked her back. She made the cutest purring sounds. Surprisingly, I never woke up during the night burning from my semblance when she was sleeping with me. It was perfect.


	36. PDA

We'd gotten really so amazingly close in just a few weeks. We were always really close friends, but now that we were  _together_ … We just… clicked.

Except for  _one_  argument.

" _Yang! I can't believe you'd do that!"_

" _Blake, I'm sorry! You were-"_

" _I wasn't doing anything! You just can't keep your hands to yourself!"_

" _I'm sorry! Your butt is just so great-"_

" _Yang!"_

" _Sorry!"_

I didn't anticipate how curious Ruby would be about all of this, though.

"So how're you and Blake?" She probably asked me about a hundred times a day.

"We're fine, Ruby." I went back to eating my sandwich. We were in the cafeteria after class. I had to actually make time just to be with my little sister. I felt bad about it, but she didn't mind.

"Have you two  _kissed_  yet?" She looked at me, eyes wide, mouth full of cookies.

"Ruby!" I was just never sure how to handle these kinds of questions with her. When we lived in Patch, I was always really careful about bringing boys over. Making out would get intense and sometimes things went a little further, but I'd always make sure they were gone by the time Ruby got curious enough about what I was doing in our room so long with the door locked. She was just so  _innocent_.

"You have to tell me when you do, okay? You've gotta tell me  _all_  about it. It'll be your first kiss ever, right?"

"Haha, yeah... totally…" I stuffed another bite of my sandwich in my mouth. I hated lying to her, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Oh? Your first kiss?"

I jumped as Blake walked up behind me and took a seat next to me at our table.

"I didn't know I'll be your  _first kiss ever_." She had the most smug, alluring look on her face. I knew what that look was.

_That's the same look she gave me in Professor Port's class! Blake! NOT IN FRONT OF RUBY!_

"Blake-"

"What's going on?" Ruby was so unbelievably innocent…

"So who's going to be the first to tell her?" She smiled, slowly taking a bite out of her apple. I looked down at my tray, ridiculously embarrassed.

"Tell me what?" She was so excited. Like a kid about to be let in on some gigantic secret.

_Dammit Ruby, you don't want to know!_

"What are we discussing?" Weiss took a seat besides Ruby, sipping a bottle of sparkling water.

 _Great! Now_ she's  _here!_

"Last chance, Dragon." I blushed at the mention of our pet name. She'd started calling me that after she realized smoke would come from my breath if she got me really flustered. I hadn't even known I could do that. The fire was always an external thing I had almost no control over.

"I'm not saying a word." I crossed my arms, calling her bluff. No way she'd mess with me  _this_  much in front of Ruby.

I was wrong.

She'd grabbed my scarf and pulled me towards her. I didn't even try to pull away. I closed my eyes and melted into the kiss. I hated how much control she had over me, but I loved it too much to care. I felt her hands slowly tug at my skirt again under the table. They pulled at my stockings and scratched at my thighs. My heart fluttered and I whimpered silently into the kiss before she pulled away.

It was a few seconds before I finally opened my eyes. I tried hiding my blush behind my scarf. Weiss didn't try to hide her look of blatant disgust. Ruby couldn't hide how much she excitedly shook in her seat. And Blake… she was smug as ever.

"I'm so glad I got to see your first kiss!"

"Ruby…" I shook my head.


	37. Gifts

I think we'd been dating about a month when I realized just how strong certain Faunus traits were.

"What is this?" We'd just finished the last of our homework for the day and she'd handed me a small, green perfume bottle. It was made of glass and looked really expensive.

"It's perfume. I thought you might like it." Blake couldn't really meet my eyes. She looked coy and nervous all at once.

"Aw! Thanks, babe! What's it smell like-"

"Don't! Don't spray it… on yourself." She quickly snatched the bottle back, holding it gingerly in her hands.

"Why not? You said it was perfume…" I didn't really understand what was going on.

"Yes, but… I don't want you to embarrass yourself. You… you're supposed to spray it on  _me_."

"Blake? what are you giving me? Is this a prank or something? Ruby put you up to this?"

"I didn't put  _do_  anything!" Ruby stuck her tongue out at me from her bed. She was reading one of her new favorite books and I couldn't believe she'd actually heard me.

"Keep that in your mouth before I rip it off," I growled, playfully shaking a fist at her.

"Plbbbbbbbbbbbt!" She blew a raspberry at me and hid back behind her book before I could throw something at her.

Blake sighed softly before waving me closer to her. Our foreheads were touching and our lips were just close enough for a kiss before she finally spoke. "It's…  _catmint_  perfume."

"You mean like catnip?"

She nodded quickly.

"You know, that doesn't work on  _humans_ , right?"

"What?" She looked so shocked, I almost felt bad I'd burst her bubble.

"You mean you don't… when you smell it?"

"Only one way to find out," I whispered quietly, uncapping the top.

"Yang, wait!"

I sprayed it on my neck, chest and wrists. It smelled herby, like burning mint or something. I watched her as her face quickly grew a thousand times more relaxed. Her cheeks grew red and a deep purr started in her chest. She crawled towards me, closing the short distance between us.

"Hehe, Blake! Blake quit it- hahaha!" She pressed her face into my neck, wrapped her arms around me and didn't move, licking softly every few minutes. I smiled and gently scratched her behind her ears. The purring grew a bit louder as I did. We sat together like that for a really long time before I tried to get her off.

"Blake?"

"Mraawrrr."

I sighed softly, settling down on her bed. Her hands pressed softly into my back as she slowly rubbed her cheek against my chest.

_At least it's relaxing._

"Aww. You two are so cute! This is going on BaseBook!" I glared at Ruby as she snapped the picture on her Scroll and silently promised myself I'd be a  _lot_  more interested in her first relationship.

Five hours later, she was still pressed against my neck, no sooner to letting go than she had been.

_This is gonna be a long night._

I didn't mind it- I  _loved_  cuddling with Blake, but we had one problem…

I really had to pee.


	38. Touch

A couple days later I was up late on my scroll. Everyone had fallen asleep a long time ago. Blake was down on her bunk for the first time in days and I could hear her slow, even breath from my bunk. I could just imagine smelling the sweet licorice scent that came with it. I leaned off my bunk to look down at her. She looked so peaceful, lips apart like she was expecting a kiss, eyes closed and ears twitching. One hand was wrapped around her waist and the other was off to her side at an angle, her fingers hanging off the edge of her bed.

I really wanted to kiss her.

It was probably really dumb, but I just needed her to know how much I cared about her, even while I was asleep. I slid off my bunk as quietly as I could, the balls of my feet touching the ground first to make even less noise. I decided now would be a good time to snap a few pics we could laugh about in the morning before I kissed her.

_Selfie time!_

I a pic, getting the both of us in it. I was making a goofy face and pointing at her. Then I took another with my tongue sticking out at her. A few more pictures and I decided the last one would be of the kiss. I leaned over her bed, lips just above hers. I looked up at my Scroll to make sure the angle was just right. I was just about to snap the picture but-

_Are her eyes open?_

She put a hand over my mouth and turned, flipping me up and over her and trapping me in the corner where the bed met the wall. I'd dropped the Scroll somewhere on the bed. She smirked, looking at me with curious eyes.

"That was easier than I thought it'd be," she whispered.

"You saying I'm  _easy_ , Belladonna?" I whispered back at her.

Blake leaned in and softly brushed her lips against mine. I tried to catch her lips in a kiss, but she pulled away and brushed them against my chin instead. Her hand came up to cup the side of my face as she gently pulling me closer to her. Her fingertips lazily played with my earlobe.

I placed a hand in the dip of her waist, and looked into her eyes. In the dim light, I couldn't see too much of her, but I could feel so much through her thin yukata. It was the same one I'd met her in. Her free hand played against my chest, sliding the pads of her fingers against my shoulders and sliding a cotton strap of my tank top down. I loved the way our bodies fit against one another like puzzle pieces. It was just such a nice feeling. She hooked a leg around mine, thighs so warm against my own. Finally, she brought her lips back to mine to kiss me, but she did it so quickly I didn't even have time to kiss her back. Her lips slowly made their way further down my jaw, and planted themselves right against my throat. She kissed and nipped for a really long time. My heart was beating so fast, my breath locked in my chest and I could do nothing but bite my lip to stop from whimpering. It took every ounce of willpower I had to stay quiet. Her rough tongue worked liked magic against my pulse and I held onto her as if she were an anchor in a hurricane. I shuddered as her free hand walked itself down my stomach and coyly make its way down my shorts.

_We've never gone this far!_

I could hear a soft giggle come from her throat, followed by the softest purring as she lazily made little hearts against my thigh. I could feel just how humid she was making me. Her fingers ran through golden fuzz and I was suddenly so self-conscious about her hand in my pants but way too turned on to care. I screwed my eyes shut and gripped her even tighter, trying to brace myself and give in all at the same time. Her nails slowly grazed their way through the fuzz and a single fingertip found its mark, slowly circling my clit.

"Ng!"

I felt her ears twitch and she pulled away. I opened my eyes and watched her bring her hand to her lips and suck on the offensive fingertip like some sex goddess. " _Easy_ ," she whispered playfully.

I could do nothing but blush. I was so turned on and desperately needed more, but there was no way she could touch me again without starting something we wouldn't be able to stop. I curled up into a ball and she was the big spoon for a change.


	39. Momentum

It wasn't long before I realized that dating a sexually frustrated Blake Belladonna was a very dangerous game with no winners. I started noticing lingering stares and licked lips. More than once I thought I heard a moan come out of the bathroom when she was the only one in the shower, just for her to come back into the room with the most content look on her face.

It started to feel like she was  _hunting_  me. I'd catch her eye as she stared at me from across the room, and more than once I've felt her lips against my throat while I was taking a nap. Even weirder, I was  _liking_  it. This unbridled interest in me…

The day after the food fight I was toweling off in the bathroom. I had one towel wrapped around my body and was using another to dry out my hair. The door was locked and Ruby and Weiss had  _just_  left so I wasn't at all worried they'd come in and see me. I hadn't even heard the door open. Her footsteps were already so quiet, I'm not surprised I didn't hear her approach. She snuck up behind me and wrapped a hand around my mouth to stop me from screaming.

Her free hand wandered its way down my body like a missile searching for warmth. I melted into her arms, bucking and moving my hips as her fingertips grazed against my flesh.

"I  _want_  you," she hissed. I couldn't argue as her lips found their way to my shoulders and started to suck and bite. She'd leave a bruise that I could easily heal with my Aura, but, like the others that patterned the skin of my throat, neck, shoulders and chest, would choose not to.

"Guys, can I come in? I left my hairbrush!" Ruby's knock on the door quickly brought us back to reality. She stripped and climbed into the shower, while I slipped into one of my new lounge shirts. I'd needed to buy new shirts that would cover up all the hickies.

"Hey, Rube. Sorry, you can go get it," I opened the door, still working to get my shorts on.

"Is that Blake in the shower," she asked curiously.

"Um… yeah?"

"Aren't you scared you might see her… you know… naked?"

_Oh my sweet summer child._

Incidents like that were becoming more and more frequent.

Like a game, she'd snatch me up right before I got to class, lips hungry against mine. Her knee would come between my thighs and suddenly there was  _friction_  against the part of me that burned the hottest. It took a few days before I realized the only way to stop her was to beat her at her own game.

My hand around her throat, I'd started to piece together just how kinky she really was. It started as roughhousing between sparring matches where she didn't put up as much of a fight as I'd expect when presented with a hand around their throat. Just a little squeeze and she moaned my name. The sound itself sent shivers down my spine. More investigations showed me that I got the same reaction by pinning her down or pulling her hair. She whimpered and moaned and squirmed and watching her do all of this for me was the best show I could've asked for.

She'd grab at my wrists, her body instinctively fighting the pressure my hand created around her throat. Her eyes went wide as she tried to moan, but her breath caught in her throat. My hands tugged sharply at her dark locks, bending her head to the side so I could make my own marks against her jaw and neck. Her legs wrapped themselves around my waist her body begging for more.

But these games were dangerous. Pinning her by her throat, back to the wall was definitely grounds for a suspension due to PDA. We always had to make sure none of the Professors were nearby.

"We can't keep doing this," I whispered softly. We were in a broom closet, tangled up in each others limbs. She had her arms around my shoulders, her legs around my waist while my fingers were deep inside her. I didn't beat around the bush-  _hehe. Get it?_ \- but always went straight to my prize. She was always ready for it, humid warmth slick enough for my fingers to slide quickly between her lips.

"I know… oh fuck…"

The problem was, neither of us had ever gotten the other to  _finish_. There just wasn't enough time. Too many distractions…

Something had to give or we'd both end up suspended, or worse...


	40. Sweet

Blake and I went back to the park the next day. We told Ruby and Weiss we were going out to a nightclub and wouldn't be back until curfew.

"Don't wait up, guys." We brought a picnic basket full of food and blankets and I bought us ice cream from the parlor. We sat and watched the sunset and I crossed my fingers, hoping that the fireflies would be able to put on one last show.

"They should've started by now, right? Do you think they're not gonna come around? We can always wait until next year, Blake, I don't mind having to wait-"

"Yang…" Blake kissed my cheek softly and I stopped mid-sentence so quickly my mouth was still hanging open.

"I don't really care if they start up… I didn't come here to watch  _them_." Blake squeezed my thigh and I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

_I'm never going to get used to how hot she is…_

She kissed me again, this time pressing her lips just under my jaw. They were soft, sweet kisses but that was all I needed before I was clay in her hands. I tangled my fingers in her hair and pulled her closer to me, tearing a short moan from her before our lips even met.

"Dust, Blake… you're so  _easy_ ," I teased. She growled at me and nipped at my lip, trying to be more controlling in the kiss. But Blake doesn't really  _do_  control. I kissed back, my hands moving up to her jaw and I held her close as I fell in love with her rough tongue and soft lips and the taste of licorice. She wrapped her arms around my waist and purred.

Blake was all sharp nibbles and sweet breath and begging moans. She purred even louder when my hands reached down to grab her hips, and I brought her body even closer against mine. I pulled her black scarf off of her with my teeth, not wanting to let her go for even a moment. It fell to the wet grass and I kissed at her jaw and neck, tearing even louder moans from her lips.

The kissing, the sighing, the fluttered breath and satisfied purrs that came from Blake were the best soundtrack I'd ever heard. I could've kissed her forever. I could've wrapped my fingers in her hair and pressed my lips against hers and felt her smooth thighs tangled between mine forever. I opened my eyes to catch a quick glimpse of her.

Then the lust set in.

She just looked so damn beautiful. Her body was laid out beside me and I ran my hands over every dip and curve I could. I couldn't take it anymore. I let my hands wander under her vest, feeling even more smooth, warm skin underneath. Her cheeks went red as I touched her.

"Yang…" She sighed my name before burying her face into my chest.

"What's up, Blakey?" I laughed softly and placed a finger under her chin to lift her face so I could look into her eyes.

"I… want- I'm ready…" She looked at me with amber eyes and long eyelashes and sweet breath and I think I felt my heart stop. Yeah, we'd come here specifically to  _do_  this, but listening to her tell me just how much she wanted to…

"Are you sure? We could just-"

"Yang…" Blake grabbed me by my scarf and pulled me in for another kiss. I closed my eyes and felt her heart beat through her chest against mine. I could feel so much through our clothes but I wanted to feel so much more. I whimpered softly as she pulled away.

"I need this," she admitted softly.

I nodded and took a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around me one last time and I tore my eyes off of her for one last moment to look up at the night sky. The shattered moon was covered behind clouds, blocking out the dim light it cast on Remnant, but thousands of little pinpricks of light flashed all around us.

"Wow…" I breathed softly.

"It's almost as beautiful as you," Blake whispered in my ear.

"You're such a nerd," I whined. Her compliments always sent a chill down my spine.

"I hope they won't be the only thing flashing me in the next few minutes."

I turned to look at her, eyes wide.

 _Did she just make a_ good  _pun?!_

"I think I love you," I whispered.

"Me too…"


	41. Chapter 41

I grabbed her wrists and pinned them down to the wet grass beneath us. She looked up into my eyes and I don't think I've ever been so in love with the color amber. It was dark in the clearing and hard to see her. I had to feel my way around her body, but I knew she could see every inch of me with those amazing Faunus eyes. I didn't mind, I  _wanted_  her to see. She tried to struggle out of my grip, trying to make this difficult. She loved playing these games where she pretended to be in control. I held her a little tighter, smirk wide on my face and she let out a little gasp of pleasure as her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. I think she finally understood just how  _hungry_  I was for her. I  _needed_ her.

I never realized how hard it would be to hold someone down and take their clothes off at the same time. I tried to pin her wrists with my left hand but she was just so intent on making it difficult. She laughed as she managed to free one of her wrists, tangled her fingers in my hair and dragged me down for another kiss. I growled in frustration as I managed to get the hand back under control. Blake wanted me between her thighs, I could see it in her eyes just how much she wanted what I was planning on giving her. She nipped and bit at my lips, and finally those amber eyes closed. She whimpered softly and I could feel my heart racing.

"You  _sure_  you want this," I loved teasing her, but I needed to know for sure if she wanted this. I wanted her to say yes, I wanted her to beg for it. I wanted to  _destroy_  her. I was gonna tie her in knots with just my tongue.

"Yang, please…," she panted softly, I could barely see red blush starting to color her cheeks. Blake humped my thigh, desperately biting her lip. For all her playful resistance, she  _really_  wanted me to hurry. She wanted my fingers and tongue and she wanted her legs wrapped around me while I explored every inch of her body.

I decided I wanted to tease her. Her body quivered under mine as I let my breath ghost over all of the marks and bruises I'd left on her shoulders and neck and chest. Small circles where I'd bit and red and blue and purple blotches where I'd sucked as she begged for more. She'd never healed a single one of them and I couldn't help but feel special. Those were  _mine_.

I could see everything she wanted in the way she moved. The way her breath went so ragged when I touched her, like every kiss was bringing her that much closer to the edge. I could feel her pulse beat beneath her skin like thousands of tiny drums. It seemed to take forever before I finally got her damn vest loose enough to slip my hand under it. I pressed my hand against her stomach, feeling dozens of tight, sculpted muscles flex under my palm. Slowly, I lifted her vest up past her midriff, kissing every inch of exposed skin I could. She responded with breathy gasps and my name whispered through grit teeth.

I slipped the vest up over her shoulders and for  _once_  she stopped fighting me, instead biting her lip as I pulled it up over her head and placed it beside us. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her again, and she purred deep in her chest as I cupped her face in my hands. Sweet licorice lips against mine. Her eyes closed, her heart was racing. I brushed my thumbs against her cheekbones as her hands tentatively grabbed at the collar of my jacket. Her palms pushed against my boobs, like she wanted to grab them but didn't want to be obvious. I took her hands in mine and pressed her palms against them. Her eyes opened for just a second, almost like she was asking if it was okay. I squeezed her palms again and bit my lip. I knew just how to pour on the sex appeal and she responded exactly how I wanted her to.

We wrestled around in the grass for a while, trying to get more and more of each other's clothes off. We rolled around on the ground, getting smudges of dirt on our backs and blades of green in our hair. I was just so desperate to kiss more of her. I kissed her from her lips to her cheek, down to her throat and neck, across her shoulders, down her arms, across her palms to each individual fingertip. I nibbled her chest, yanked her bra off with my teeth to kiss each breast. She clutched at the grass under us and whined my name. I just  _couldn't_ tease her when she was practically  _begging_  for my touch. I tried to peel her out of her stockings but I was just a bit too eager. I heard a quick rip and stopped just as she shuddered.

"Do it again," she whimpered.

"Fuck, you're so hot," I whispered to myself. I ripped at the stockings with short, quick yanks, revealing more and more skin as she yanked out fistfuls of grass from the ground. I dragged my nails against the torn cloth, scratching at her inner thighs. Slowly, I peeled them off of her. Her shorts came next, the white already stained with shades of green and brown from rolling around in the grass.

I looked down at her nearly naked body. She was wearing nothing but black lace underwear. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. Her amber eyes looked up at me as I took in the sight of her amazing legs and tight stomach. And that's when I panicked.


	42. Chapter 42

“Yang, breathe,” Blake whispered in my ear.

“One… two… three,” she counted off, bright eyes holding my gaze so effortlessly. I was struggling to suck down some air, my body felt like a huge weight was against my chest and I just couldn’t manage to breathe.

“Yang, I’m right here. Breathe... Breathe,” she spoke slowly and calmly, never looking away. Each breath felt like trying to breathe through a stuffed straw. I could feel her hands wrapped around my thighs, squeezing gently. She was trying her hardest to get me to stop freaking out.

I managed one, quick breath. Then another…

It felt like forever before I could finally catch my breath.

“Yang… are you okay,” she asked softly, stroking my knees to a rhythm I could follow. I still couldn’t speak, but I could nod, tears in my eyes as I tried to tell her I was okay.

“Yang… that was a panic attack… what’s wrong,” she asked me again, her eyes constantly on mine. I tried my hardest to crack a smile, looking down sheepishly at the grass beneath us.

“Performance anxiety,” I mumbled, trying my hardest to play it cool. I wasn’t sure myself of where that’d come from.

“Yang, I’m serious,” Blake hissed, finally moving closer to me after I got my breath back. She looked all sorts of nervous and concerned. I felt terrible for freaking her out.

“What’s wrong,” she asked again.

“Blake, I… I’m only partly joking.” My voice was gross and raspy. I sounded like I was choking. I cleared my throat, wiping the tears that I hadn’t even realized had gathered in my eyes.

“Yang,” she whispered, a small smile on her face.

“I know, I’m a big dumb baby,” I sighed, taking a long, deep breath and holding it as long as I could. I cleared my throat, nervously combing my fingers through my hair.

“Yang, you’re not dumb,” Blake whispered, wrapping her arms around my waist. She looked so beautiful, Dust. Her Faunus ears twitched as she watched me, making sure I was okay.

“I ruined our date,” I grumbled. I could feel myself pouting but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Resting my hand against her chest, I tried my hardest to look more apologetic than upset.

“Well… not necessarily,” she hummed, eyes narrowing at me like a sultry goddess. I could feel myself blushing, eyes wide as I realized I hadn’t ruined the mood.

“You just need to know that this isn’t your performance.” She winked and kissed at my chest, nipping at sucking at my collarbones and I shivered. Her hands wandered down against my thighs and I bit my lip to keep from letting out a moan. I felt my heart fluttered, my skin get hot as her fingers danced against my underwear.

“Tell me what to do,” she whispered sultrily, ears twitching in a rhythm that I’d learned meant she was so fucking turned on.

“You’re such a bottom,” I laughed softly, still shivering as her fingers pressed against the cloth. I closed my eyes, clutching at the grass beneath my hands.

“Tell me or I’ll stop,” she warned and I knew she meant it.

“That wasn’t very ‘bottom.’”

“Blake… just fuck me.”

“How,” she smirked, fingers trailing away, moving closer towards my thighs.

“Like you mean it,” it was all I could think to say. I couldn’t let her get away with being so damn sexy without pouring on the allure myself.

She leaned in, kissing at my chest and pressed her palm against my crotch. Blake fingered me through my underwear and I’d never moaned so loud in my life. She rubbed circles into me, pressing just deep enough that I knew the cloth would be soaked by the time she pulled away.

I wrapped my palms around her head and pulled her back up to kiss me. Her lips were warm and god I would never get tired of the taste of licorice. I closed my eyes and focused on what I could feel.

She hadn’t figured out a rhythm yet, so I couldn’t prepare myself as she worked. Each penetration was unexpected, but unlike anyone else I’d spent time with, she wasn’t rough or impatient. Blake was slow and gentle and it drove me crazy. The build-up and the hitch in her breath as she was oh so obviously just as turned on as I was. The way she bit her lip as she watched me, the smirk on her face as she finally pushed the underwear aside and fingered me like a fucking goddess. I could feel every knuckle, every wrinkle in her skin as she spread her fingers, my body quivering around them, my back arching as my spine shuddered. I clutched at the ground, ripping grass out of the dirt as I squirmed under her palm. Leaning forward, I planted a sloppy kiss against her throat, knowing how much she loved those.

I was so fucking lost, lost in the sexiest girl in the fucking world. And she was trying her hardest to get me to cum. Her thumb rubbed against my clit, her fingers pushing and sliding and spreading. I tried to follow along with my hips, but my thighs were shaking and all I could manage to do was groan. My voice wavered as I called out Blake’s name, nipping at her throat as I kissed her. I wanted more of her, I needed more. Finally I worked up the nerve and pushed her onto her back. Her fingers slipped out from between my lips and left a long trail up my stomach.

“Yang,” she gasped, ears pinned back against her skull.

“Keep quiet,” I warned, grabbing her thighs and settling down between them. Her hands reached up, tangling themselves in my hair before I’d even started. I smirked and took my first lick and Dust she tasted like heaven. I licked my lips as she looked up into my eyes. After blowing a quick kiss, I got to work.

Her toned thighs tightened around me, muscles quivering as she tensed up.

“Relaaaax,” I whispered soothing, taking long, lazy licks that started from deep between her lips and ended with the tip of my tongue flicking her clit. I knew what I was doing and I wanted her to lose herself. She gasped my name, fingers tugging at my hair and pulling me closer into her. I kissed and licked and slurped and nibbled, and all she could do was writhe and moan my name into the cool night air. I felt big, powerful.

She came so fast, her breathing coming faster and faster, going ragged and finally hitched, voice cracking as she gasped my name into the night. Her ears pointed out to the side, back arching up off the ground, her body wrapping itself in knots as she flooded the banks of her thighs with her release.

Poetic, right?

I cleaned her off, tasting warmth and musk and the increasingly familiar tingle of licorice on my tongue. Her fingers left my hair, her hands moving to rub her face. I laughed softly, letting her catch her breath.

“Thanks, Yang,” she whispered quietly once she’d come down off the afterglow of her orgasm. She tried to sit up, but I held her in place, shaking my head as I kept pace with my slow, lazy licks.

“Yang,” she asked curiously, looking up into my eyes. I smirked, and sped my pace, focusing on her clit.

“You’re not done until I say you are,” I whispered hotly into her thighs. 


	43. Chapter 43

The next few days were quiet. Now that we'd finally gotten our hands on each other, we were finally able to think of other things besides how much we wanted to bend each other over a table. Team RWBY prepared for our fight in the tournaments, training every day to make sure that we'd be a force to be reckoned with, no matter what kind of team we'd face. But after every long day at school or every brutally exhausting training session, instead of reading Ruby a story _alone_ or hopping into my bed _alone_ , I had Blake with me. She'd curl up in a tight ball, sometimes with a book and sometimes not, and lean against me. I don't know _why_ that drove me crazy- just the small touches that made my heart race. It was like she wanted me there just as much as I needed her.

Not much else happened that week. We trained together, laughed together, ate together. Most times as a team and sometimes as a couple. Sometimes JNPR and SSSN came over and Nora, Pyrrha and I wrestled while Blake and Ren read stories. Everything felt _normal_. As if Blake was just another part of my life. It was weird, but… _nice_. Sometimes she'd make her way from her bunk into mine late at night, not even bothering to ask anymore- she already knew what the answer was. We drank tea together and I read her stories over her shoulder while she purred in my arms. Spending intimate time with her became like spending sister time with Ruby. It was just something that _happened_.

"We got a package! Who ordered something," Ruby chanted as she signed the Scroll the delivery man handed her.

"It's mine," Blake called, untangling herself from my arms to lean forward off my bunk and reach for the box. Ruby tossed it to her, not even bothering to watch to see if Blake would catch it- she knew she would.

"What's in the box, babe," I asked curiously. It wasn't often Blake bought things- having grown up outside the kingdoms in the White Fang, she didn't exactly have family to ask for money. She never made a big deal out of it, but I always made sure to buy extra food whenever Ruby and I ordered take-out.

"It's… well…" Blush ran to her cheeks as she held the cardboard box in her hand. It was small and rectangular- about the size of a book- but sounded empty and looked to weigh a lot less than a book that size might. Instead of answering, Blake opened the box, tearing the tape used to seal the cardboard and emptying its contents on my sheets. About a dozen yellow ribbons sipped out, about a foot long and four inches tall. I touched one and could tell they were made of pretty soft silk, but I couldn't tell what they were for.

"Ribbons," I asked curiously.

"For a bow," Blake responded. I didn't understand until she reached for her head, untying the black bow off her ears. The black ribbon floated to the bed as she tied on the new ribbon, bright yellow and twice as soft. Her ears twitched as she finished the knot, testing to see it was secure.

"Aw, Blake you two are matching," Ruby giggled excitedly as she sat in her bed. Weiss poked her head out from the small cave her bed and Ruby's made, and smirked as she saw Blake's bow. She pulled her head back just as quickly as Zwei whined for more attention. She got back to petting him with her free hand, and studying.

"It took a while to find a color that matched your hair," she whispered softly, cheeks red.

"You look adorable," I told her. I'd never seen anything cuter.


	44. Chapter 44

“R- Ruby! Ruby _stay away from him_ ,” I shouted as loud as I could, but Roman Torchwick grabbed her by the throat, lifting her high up off the ground. Crescent Rose slipped from her grasp and clattered loudly against the cracked pavement. Ruby kicked and flailed as hard as she could, but Roman seemed invincible as he strangled the life out of her.

“All you have to do is tell me where your sister is,” his cocky voice sounded even more arrogant in his excitement. He _knew_ he’d won, and wanted nothing more than to kill the girl that’d ruined so many of his criminal operations. But there was something he wanted first. _Me!_

“ _I’m here! Leave her alone_ ,” I screamed, trying my hardest to move forward. He’d set some kind of trap- quicksand or something- and my boots were being sucked down into the pit with every step I tried to take. I struggled to lift my right foot, but it just pushed my left even deeper.

_Why can’t he hear me?_

Ruby gasped for breath, her face turning red and her kicking to escape grew even more desperate. She clawed and bit at his hands and forearms, kicked at his chest and groin, _but he just wouldn’t let go_. I tried my hardest to shoot him, but Ember Celica was out of shells. The terrifying _click-click_ of an empty chamber was all I could hear from them, and I couldn’t find my spare ammo belts.

“ _LEAVE HER ALONE_ ,” I screamed even louder, sinking faster into the the sand as I struggled more to get to them. Roman didn’t even flinch- it was like I wasn’t even _there_.

“Last chance, Little Red. Wouldn’t want me to snap that pretty little neck of yours, would we? _Tell me where Yang Xiao Long is_.” Suddenly he was a _lot_ less smooth and arrogant and a lot more terrifying. I could see the fear in Ruby’s eyes as she tried to scream for help. I could see her look at me, her gaze meeting mine. She shook her head, refusing to give me up to Roman.

“ _RUBY, NO!_ ”

“Hm, such a shame. You might’ve made a great crime lord some day. Snip away all of those pretty little petals until you’re someone a whole lot more _respectable_ than you are now. Oh well-”

She came at him like a flash, just like I’d seen her do hundreds of times. Blake was less than a blur as she swiped at him, Gambol Shroud flashing faster than even _I_ could see. Roman definitely felt _that_. He dropped Ruby and grabbed his cane before kicking Crescent Rose out of Ruby’s reach. The collapsed scythe skated across the pavement and stopped a few dozen feet away under a car.

“ _BLAKE, STOP, NO!_ ” I _knew_ Blake. I _knew_ she wouldn’t be able to take Roman- not without help. Roman was just too fast, too experienced at fighting cops and Hunters alike. Blake tried her hardest, slashing and dodging as best she could, but two shots from Roman at the ground beneath her feet caused her to trip forward as she tried to strike at him. He whacked her over the head with his cane and kicked Gambol Shroud out of her hands before she’d had the chance to recover. With another hit, he knocked her to her knees, stunning her again as he walked over to where Ruby was crawling along the ground trying to get to Crescent Rose. Roman picked her up and tossed her at Blake, the two of them landing on the ground in a twisted pile of limbs.

“So, the easy way or the hard way? Either you _tell_ me where Yang is, or I kill one of you and _make_ the other tell me where she is. What’s it gonna be, hmm?” Roman crouched down to their level, using the end of his cane and tilting first Blake’s face, then Ruby’s to meet his lecherous gaze.

“ _I’M HERE! I’M RIGHT HERE YOU FUCKING CREEP! ROMAN! LOOK AT ME YOU MOTHERFUCKER!_ ” I tried everything as I sank deeper and deeper into the sand. I was up to my chest and sinking even faster as I tried my hardest to claw my way out. But as hard as I tried, the more the sand sucked me under.

“Ugh. Fine, fine. I’m a reasonable guy. I’ll let you two pick which one I kill _first_. Is that fair?” Roman waited for a response, as if he were doing them some kind of _favor_ by offering them something like this. Blake lunged at him, her body a blur as she sailed through the air, but Roman simply side-stepped and clotheslined her, knocking all of the wind out of her as she fell to the ground, doubled over in pain.

“Looks like someone’s just elected themselves out of the elimination round,” Roman sang excitedly. He kicked Blake over, rolling her onto her stomach and stepped on her back, pinning her to the ground.

“ _ROMAN, PLEASE, NO!_ ” I begged as loud as I could, my voice somehow only reaching Blake’s ears. She looked into my eyes, a small, bloody smile on her face. Slowly, she reached out towards me, as if she wanted nothing more than to take my hand one last time. I watched as the crosshairs lifted off the chamber of his cane, readying his next shot.

“I love you.” Her voice rang in my ears, sad and terrified as she felt the muzzle press against the back of her skull.

“ ** _Blake_** -”

My eyes snapped wide open as the sound of the gunshot faded away in the cold night air. I was in my bed, sheets wrapped tight around me, a gross layer of sweat stuck to my skin. My eyes darted to my left, and there was Blake, watching me with the most concerned look on her face.

“Yang? You had a nightmare. Are you okay,” she whispered quietly. She reached out and wiped away some sweat off my forehead with the palm of her hand. I could feel my heart racing, it felt like I’d run for _miles_ without stopping.

“Is Ruby-”

“She’s fine… Ruby and Weiss are both fine and asleep. Zwei’s been whining to come up here since you started talking in your sleep but… sorry, I’m still a little afraid of him- _whoa!_ ”

I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her chest. I listened to the beat of her heart, the sound of blood rushing through her veins. I reached up and felt the back of her head, the yellow ribbon hiding her Faunus ears the only irregularity there.

I _swear_ I tried to stop them.

But sometimes there’s just nothing you can do.

I cried into her chest, big, salty tears staining the sleep-shirt I’d loaned her for the night. I cried like I’d hadn’t cried in a long, long time.


	45. Chapter 45

"She was totally checking you out Blakey. You should talk to her, she's pretty cute," I teased, making sure I didn't upset her ankle while I massaged it. She'd sprained her ankle during our fight against Team ABRN, and even though Aura heals things like that almost instantly, the pain still leaves muscles pretty sore for a while after.

* * *

"Yang, oh my Dust-"

"Look, I'm just saying, she was totally your type. Cocky, flirty, _confident._ And she wears a ton of purple- I know how much you-"

"Yaaaaaaaang," she whined, kicking me with her uninjured foot. The only clue to let me know I was even in the ballpark of being right about this was the light blush on her cheeks that refused to go away since I'd brought it up.

"Come on, Blakey. Was she at least cute? You can tell me that, I promise I won't be jealous," I smirked, firmly pushing against her muscles with the pad of my thumb.

"I- I mean… well-"

"I _think_ I think she was pretty cute. You know I'm still trying to find out what kind of girls I like. Maybe it'd be kinda helpful to speak to someone who's had these kinds of feelings about girls for a while, hm?" I knew Blake wouldn't want to talk about this if I was only asking her feelings just to ask her feelings. She had to feel she was talking about this for me- for _us_. It helped that I _did_ actually need some help trying to understand my feelings in the first place.

"Oh? Um… well, yeah. She's… cute. Like you said she's very sure of herself. Is that what you're looking for-"

"I've already found who I'm looking for, Kitten," I reminded her.

"Right… sorry. Um… well what kind of things are you looking for in a partner, anyway?" She chewed at her lip to stop from moaning as I pressed a little firmer against the tender muscles in her leg.

"Hmm… Someone interesting. Someone who puts up a super mysterious front because they're trying their hardest not to show everyone how much of a nerd they are." She was blushing before I'd even finished and I shot a quick wink at her, knowing how much she liked it when I complimented her.

"Well… it doesn't particularly sound like Reese would be your kind of girl," she said through a quick cough. I tapped her knee, signaling I was done massaging her and she wiggled her toes and stretched out her foot. She rolled her ankle a bit before finally taking her leg back and crossing them both as she sat.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you then," I smirked, holding out my wrists for her while she reached for my wraps. They were special handwraps Weiss had bought me, infused with fire and ice Dust to relax away muscle pain that activated depending on the length of time they were exposed to body heat. They sounded super expensive and unnecessary, but I wasn't going to turn a gift from Weiss down, and I paid her back by helping her train for her Gym practical. Plus, Blake loved wrapping my wrists for whatever reason.

"Looks like it," she purred back, carefully wrapping up my right wrist. I watched her while she worked, and waited until she was _just_ done with the final knot before leaning in close for a kiss. I caught her by surprise, but she kissed back on instinct.

"Yang," she laughed softly, flashing pearly whites and batting her lashes at me.

"Yuck," Ruby called from her bunk across from us.

I took that as a challenge.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against Blake's nipping just hard enough to draw blood and she gasped.

"Get a room you two," Weiss called up, while Ruby pretended to vomit into her hands.

It was hard not to love these guys.


	46. Compliments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang's showered with affection after her double KO fight against Flynt and Neon.

“You did such an amazing job, Yang!” Ruby had practically been buzzing around me like a rapier wasp ever since the end of the match. She’d hugged me at least fifty times and was skipping around Blake and I in excitement. It was a pretty big boost to my ego after coming so close to a loss. It was times like these having a little sister felt really great.

“Yeah, you _are_ pretty amazing,” Blake’s tone was different, and she was giving me a look I was very quickly becoming familiar with. I did my best to hide my blush with a bigger smile.

“Aw, shucks, guys. It was nothing. Weiss is the real hero. She weakened that Flynt guy just enough that he couldn’t hurt me too bad before I got to him.” It was true. Neon had distracted me and tired me out long enough I wouldn’t have been able to beat them both if Weiss hadn’t pushed the guy to within an inch of being KO’d. I just finished the job.

“Oh, don’t worry! Weiss gets to hear just how proud of her I am once the nurse lets me get into her room,” Ruby huffed and crossed her arms angrily.

“Wait you’ve been to the infirmary already,” I asked curiously. She’d been with Blake and I since I made it back from the stage, and I was pretty sure she’d stayed with Blake until I met up with them.

“Yeah, I ran there and back before they checked her in. I already knew they’d tell me to wait, they kept me out for _hours_ when you had to check in after our fight with Roman Torchwick.” She was still crossing her arms and pouting as we strolled towards the exit of the colosseum. Sometimes I forget just how fast she’s gotten.

“We’ll shower Weiss with our affection as soon as she’s well,” Blake promised, placing a gentle hand on Ruby’s shoulder. It was something so small, but made me so happy. Ruby never really had too many friends in Signal, or even from the neighborhood in Patch, and I was glad Blake wanted to be hers just as much as she wanted to be my girlfriend.

“Hopefully not too much affection,” I whispered, a quick raise of my eyebrow and playful smirk made her blush redder than Ruby’s cloak.

“S- so what are we going to do while we wait for Weiss to get back,” Blake asked, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

“Oh! How about we do some more training at the gym! There’s no such thing as too much training,” Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, way too excited about the idea. I looked awkwardly at Blake and she returned the look, neither of us were all too happy about the idea but I wasn’t too sure how to tell Ruby.

“Hey, guys!” Jaune shouted from across the courtyard, waving to get our attention.

“Yang, that was spectacular,” Pyrrha called out, all smiles and bright green eyes. Blake’s sigh of relief was closer to a purr as it rolled off her lips. We were both pretty relieved to see Team JNPR making their way towards us.

“Oh! Hey, guys!” Ruby dashed over to meet them and excitedly jumped into Pyrrha’s arms. Again, I couldn’t help but smile. I was so proud of her.

“Hey, Yang,” Blake nudged me softly.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Want to… um… _do_ , anything tonight?” Her cheeks were red and the yellow ribbon she was wearing to hide her ears tugged towards the back of her skull. She looked so adorable when she was embarrassed.

“You mean like a date,” I asked playfully, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Um… yeah, sure… a date,” she answered back.

“We can head back to the ice cream spot-”

“Ice cream? I love ice cream! Ren, wanna go get some ice cream? Where can we even get good ice cream on campus all they have is that sugar-free stuff on campus, blegh.” Nora was talkative as ever and super excited.

“Oh! Um, I didn’t-” Blake started, but I looked up as someone else shouted over the crowd.

“Hey, guys,” it was easy to tell where the shout had come from, you could make out Neptune’s highlighter blue hair anywhere.

“Yang, that was awesome! You should’ve seen it, you were out there like hyah! And then that Neon chick pissed you off and you were all ROAR!” Sun and the rest of his team were just as excited as JNPR had been.

“Looks like it’s a group date,” I chuckled, playfully nudging Blake.

“... yeah. That’s fine.” She sounded a little down, but I couldn’t really tell why.

“Don’t worry. Your cone is on me,” I kissed her on the cheek and reached for her hand, gripping it tight in mine. She nuzzled into the kiss and nodded, flashing me a quick smile. I guessed that was enough convincing.

“We’ll have to spring Weiss out of the infirmary, guys,” I called out to everyone. There’s no way we could’ve gone without her.

“A heist? Sounds like fun, I’m in,” Sun smirked, definitely ready to cause some trouble.

“Hey… wasn’t Ruby just with us,” Jaune asked confusedly.

“ _Ruby Rose set me down this instant, you scoundrel!_ ”

“I’ve got Weiss, guys,” Ruby chuckled, carrying Weiss bridle style.

Sometimes it really payed off having a little sister.


End file.
